ER or Urgent Care and the Best of Both Under One Roof

Life is unpredictable. Your daughter landed wrong at cheerleading camp and can’t put weight on her ankle. It's swelling, and she's crying out in pain. Should you go to the emergency room or urgent care? For an injury or mysterious medical issue, it can be challenging to know where to go when you need care fast.

What is an Emergency Room? What is Urgent Care?

Here are a few key differences and the type of care each facility offers.

Emergency Room

The purpose of an emergency room is to treat patients of all ages with life-threatening health conditions. It is the best option when you require immediate medical attention. The ER is staffed 24/7 with physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses trained to deliver emergency care. The team has quick access to expert providers in advanced specialties such as cardiology, neurology, and orthopedics. Emergency departments also have the imaging and laboratory resources to diagnose and deliver care for severe and life-threatening situations.

Common Emergency Room Cases Include:

• Broken bones and dislocated joints
• Chest pain or difficulty breathing
• Concussion
• Confusion/change in mental state
• Fainting
• Fever with a rash
• Head or eye injury
• Seizures
• Serious burns
• Severe cold or flu symptoms
• Severe cuts that may require stitches
• Slurred speech
• Vaginal bleeding with pregnancy
• Weakness/numbness on one side

Urgent Care

Urgent care is the middle ground between your primary care provider and the emergency room. Urgent care is the way to go if you have a minor illness or injury that can't wait until tomorrow. Also, it is a good option if you have illnesses or injuries without other symptoms or if you do not have other underlying health conditions.

Common Urgent Care Cases Include:

• After-hours, work-related illnesses or injuries
• Earaches, sore throat, or fever
• Fractures, sprains, or strains
• Minor burns or cuts
• Minor cold or flu symptoms
• Stings or bites

To eliminate confusion and save time during an urgent situation, UF Health offers a unique patient experience.Instead of needing to self-triage when an urgent health problem arises and making the quick decision of whether to go to urgent care or the emergency room, patients can go to a dual-model ER and urgent care facility.

An emergency room and urgent care hybrid model takes the guesswork out of determining what kind of care you need. They will evaluate you and decide whether you should receive emergent or non-emergent treatment. This means that your level of care is determined based on your health needs. You're then billed according to the treatment you get.

Four Benefits of Visiting a Combined ER and Urgent Care

1. Shorter Wait Times

Our combined ER and urgent care is designed to minimize the time you spend with us from door to door. Because an emergency-trained specialist assesses every patient, our model ensures you get the quality care you want, need, and deserve.

2. Cost-Effective Treatment

The typical bill for an emergency room visit for an emergent case may be thousands of dollars. However, many ER cases are non-emergent and can be treated as easily at an urgent care center. This saves both the unnecessary time spent with emergency medicine physicians and the money employers and patients spend on care in the emergency room.

3. Non-Emergent and Emergent Treatment Options

Whether the medical care you need is an emergency or non-emergency, you'll receive value-based treatment. Once they determine the level of treatment you need, you'll have access to emergency-trained physicians and staff to administer medical care as necessary.

4. Never Wait to Schedule, No Appointments Needed

Regular, routine checkups and communications with your primary care physician are essential to your health and well-being. However, sometimes you need care when your doctor's office is closed, or an emergency presents itself. That's when a trip to a combined ER and urgent care facility is convenient and important to ensure your condition doesn't worsen. No appointments are necessary. Just walk in and get the care you need when you need it.

Be Prepared for Your Medical Needs

Before encountering medical problems, learn where you can get help fast. Make a list of the emergency and urgent care offices near you and save them in your phone. For life-threatening medical emergencies, call 911 immediately or go to the emergency room.

At UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care Centers, our primary goal is to provide the residents of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia with exceptional service and the proper billing for the care they need. Our combined emergency room and urgent care is fully equipped to handle everything from allergies to fractures to chest pain, with on-site labs, CT, ultrasound, and X-ray, all under one roof. The ER and urgent care centers are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No appointment is necessary — just walk in!

Find the UF Health Emergency & Urgent Care Center in Jacksonville nearest you at https://euc.ufhealthjax.org/locations.