Across the United States, after hours urgent care centers are growing increasing popular. After all, these walk in health clinics are not only convenient and helpful, offering treatment for a variety of non-life-threatening conditions long after local doctors offices have closed, but they are also usually more affordable. With these benefits, it is no wonder that some hospitals are getting in on the action: for example, on Monday, March 2, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) opened an after hours urgent care facility for children in Chalfont.
Located within CHOP’s existing Special Care Center, the urgent care clinic is staffed by the hospital’s pediatricians and pediatric nurses. Like all urgent care facilities, it offers treatment for non-critical illnesses and injuries, such as ear infections, rashes, headaches, minor burns, and broken bones. The clinic is scheduled to operate weekdays from 4 to 11 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will also be open on holidays.
Because the after hours urgent care center is operated by the hospital, it will also have another advantage over walk in clinics in the area: the facility will be able to send a prompt report of each visit to the patient’s pediatrician, which will include a detailed summary of the care provided, a list of any prescribed or administered medications and a continuing treatment plan. This feature will be able to ensure children who visit the urgent care clinic will continue to receive a high quality of medical care even after they leave. However, despite the worth of the service, doctors at CHOP are adamant that the after hours urgent care facility should not replace a child’s pediatrician; the center is instead intended to serve as a resource when urgent help is required and other options are closed.
The doctors at CHOP say they know how scary it can be for parents when their child is sick or injured, a situation that only seems more dire when their pediatrician’s office is closed. Fortunately, families in Chalfont and the surrounding areas now have an affordable, convenient and effective resource that can help quiet those fears and give them the medical care they need. With these benefits, it is no wonder why people across the U.S. are increasingly choosing urgent care centers for their minor medical problems.
