You or a family member become sick or get injured out of the blue, and you’re sitting there wondering, “Where can I get fast help?” Not everything needs the hospital ER, but two weeks to see a doctor isn’t a great solution either. That’s where urgent care comes into play.
Winston Salem urgent care centers are walk-in centers that patients visit whenever they need immediate, sure, and lower-cost health care. They are open later, accept walk-ins, and treat most of the non-life-threatening conditions that could not have waited.
What Is Urgent Care?
Urgent care is just one of those medical care services that are designed to assist with medical issues that must be addressed immediately but are not emergent. It’s sort of halfway between your regular doctor and the emergency room.
Examples:
- You cut your finger and need stitches.
- Your child has a fever on a Sunday night.
- You twisted your ankle and needed an X-ray.
- You have a sore throat and would rather get strep-tested.
Great reasons to visit this urgent care and not wait for a primary physician or the ER.
Why Visit Urgent Care in Winston Salem?
Winston Salem also has a number of well-stocked urgent care centers available to treat the population. Utilization of urgent care is good in a number of ways:
- Immediate Service: Most have walk-in service with less wait than ERs.
- Affordable Care: It is less expensive than the emergency room, thus affordable.
- Convenient Hours: Nights and weekends are excellent convenient hours, perfect for acute illness.
- Broad Range of Services: They provide X-rays, lab tests, and a wide range of other daily necessities.
- Accessibility: Centers are located throughout Winston Salem, so help is never out of reach.
Urgent Care Services Provided
Its urgent care centers offer a range of services. Which are for the treatment of disease and injury. Some of them are:
Illness Treatment
- Flu, cold, and fever
- Sore throat and strep test
- Ear infection
- Bronchitis and sinus infection
- Vomiting and stomach cramps
Care for Injury
- Treatment of scrapes, stitches, and cuts
- Treatment of sprains and strains
- Treatment of broken bones and fracture
- Treatment of minor to moderate burns
- Treatment of insect bites or rash
Testing and Diagnostics
- X-rays for injury
- Lab tests for infections
- Rapid COVID-19, flu, and strep testing
- Blood tests for annual health checks
Other Services
- Vaccines (travel, flu, tetanus)
- School, sport, and work physical
- Occupational health services
- Preventive health checks
Urgent Care or Emergency Room
It is always helpful to know the difference between urgent care and emergency rooms. So you’re making an educated decision.
- Urgent Care: Best for serious. But not life-threatening illness or injury. Example: sprains, fever, ear infection, minor cuts, mild asthma attack.
- Emergency Room: In case of emergencies. Example: chest pain, bad head injury, can’t breathe, having a seizure, or can’t stop bleeding.
If you’re unsure about it. Then it’s always best to call the urgent care first. To see or just go to the ER if it is an emergency.
Where to go for Urgent Care in Winston Salem
Winston Salem does have urgent care centers, typically under the major health systems of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist or Novant Health. They have them located all throughout the city so that families can visit the one closest to them depending on where they live.
They all offer parking, after-hours, and walk-in. They even offer check-in online so they won’t have to wait.
Patient Experience
Patients who go to their urgent care centers are most likely to complain about:
- Short Wait Times: Briefer than the ER’s.
- Smiling, friendly doctors and nurses are nice to have around families.
- Reasonable Charges: Urgent care is less expensive for the uninsured than visiting the ER.
- Clean, organized facilities are newer and nicer.
When to Use Urgent Care
The following are some examples of when urgent care is best suited:
- Fever that just won’t break
- Cough, cold, or flu
- Small burns or cuts requiring stitches
- Sprained ankle or wrist injury
- Ear infection or sore throat
- Diarrhea or vomiting that refuses to stop
- Small allergic reaction or skin rash
In the case of serious symptoms like chest pain, bleeding that won’t stop, or sudden confusion, bypass urgent care and proceed directly to the ER.
How Much Does Urgent Care Cost?
Cost is important to most families. Winston Salem, urgent care visits typically cost:
- With Insurance: Copays range from $30–$75.
- Without Insurance: It’s $100–$200 based on the tests performed.
A lot less than the emergency room where they charge $500 or more for the same condition.
Also Read: Davie Medical Center: Providing High-Quality Health Care to the Community
Urgent Care for Children
Most parents in Winston Salem employ the urgent care for children. The facilities have pediatricians or staff who are trained specifically to deal with children. They can treat:
- Ear infection
- Sudden spike in fever
- Asthma attack
- Broken bones or minor cuts
- Stomach viruses
Having urgent care close by gives parents convenience, particularly after-office hours.
Urgent Care during COVID-19
Winston Salem urgent care centers are serving another extremely important role in COVID-19 management as well. They offer:
- Rapid COVID-19 testing
- PCR testing
- Prescription guidelines for mild illness
- Vaccinations and boosters
This only made them all the more critical to the community.
Urgent Care Role in the Community
In addition to being urgent, urgent care plays a role in the overall Winston Salem community by:
- Not taking up emergency rooms
- Offering some of their medical care to uninsured families at an affordable price
- Employing residents who are health care professionals
- Offering increased access to health care for all
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an appointment for urgent care?
No. The majority have walk-ins, but check-in is available online too.
Can I visit urgent care on a weekend?
Yes. They are open weekends and evenings in most cases.
Can urgent care do X-rays?
Yes. The majority have imaging on-site for the convenience of instant results.
What ages are they treating?
They treat infants to geriatric all ages.
Do they treat chronic illness?
They can treat acute, but for chronic illness, you must be seen by a primary care physician.
Conclusion
Winston Salem urgent cares are a boon to the families in need of immediate, quality, and affordable medical care. They act as the go-betweens for emergency rooms and family doctors. It serves up everything from stitches and X-rays to physicals and flu shots.
They have friendly staff to state of the art centers and convenient spots. Their urgent care facilities are the salvation of the city’s residents. Regardless of when that sudden fever, horrible ankle, or throbbing sore sore throat hits you, you don’t need to wait and pay an arm and a leg, urgent care has your back.
