Learn how visiting PhysicianOne Urgent Care for kids can save you and your family time, worry and money. This is a sponsored post with PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers. As always, opinions remain 100% my own.
My 5 year old fell ill out of nowhere. One second she was singing and dancing in the aisles of the store, and the next she looked ghastly pale and as though she might faint. By the time we got home, she had a fever of 103.5, the highest she has ever had, and could barely lift her head off the couch. I called my pediatrician’s office… at 5PM, just as he was seeing his last patient. The nurse gave recommendations for making her comfortable for the evening, and suggested I call back for an appointment the next day if there were any changes in symptoms. I was left with a night of no sleep and constant worry as I monitored her temperature and symptoms. This is the perfect scenario for urgent care for kids.
I stayed up monitoring her most of the night, and the next morning at breakfast, when my daughter couldn’t swallow because her throat was so swollen, I called the pediatrician’s office AGAIN. A mid-day appointment resulted in a positive Strep test, and she was prescribed antibiotics. Within 24 hours, she was back to herself and fever free.
But her diagnosis and start of antibiotics could all have started as much as 18 hours earlier with a quick visit to a PhysicianOne Urgent Care center, saving her from suffering, and me from worry. And had I known then what I know now about Urgent Care, that’s exactly what I would have done.
What is Urgent Care?
Many parents mistakenly believe Urgent Care is just for people who don’t have a primary care physician. It can be… but it is so much more than that. Urgent Care centers, like the 18 PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, are the perfect option when your primary care physician is unavailable for non-life threatening illnesses and injuries.
With longer hours daily, and open hours on holidays and weekends, you can walk-in and be seen by a physician or physician’s assistant when your primary care provider’s office is closed. It can also be a great choice when you can’t get in to see your pediatrician as quickly as you would like – especially during busy cold and flu season, or for back to school or sports physicals.
Urgent Care can also bridge the care gap between primary care services and the ER. PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers are also equipped with x-ray equipment, can set broken bones or fractures, and can perform stitches, sparing you from hours waiting in the ER for more minor injuries.
An Urgent Care center is not a replacement for your child’s pediatrician; but it is an excellent option for parents when illness or injury strike outside of normal working hours.
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Urgent Care for Kids Saves You From Worry
For all of us with kids, the experience I had with my daughter’s illness is all too familiar. Kids always seem to get sick at night, on weekends, or just before the holidays. I always find myself debating whether to try to get her in to see the doctor at the last minute on Friday or to wait it out over the weekend.
Knowing a PhysicianOne Urgent Care center is available and open for extended hours, 365 days a year, alleves that worry and stress when illness strikes at inconvenient times.
Urgent Care Saves You Time
When both parents work, sick kids means time off from work, often for multiple days. Urgent care for kids means parents miss less work. The sooner your child can be seen, diagnosed and treated, the sooner they can feel better, go back to school and the less time from work you miss.
Most school policies require children be fever-free without fever reducing medication for at least 24 hours, and most pediatrican’s recommend when prescribing antibiotics that you take them for at least 24 hours, before returning to school.
When you wait to see the pediatrician the next day, you can often end up having to stay home a second day to meet the 24 hour requirement. PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers offer walk-in appointments, as well as the ability to check wait times online, and even check-in online to reserve your spot. All to save you time and get you care as quickly as possible.
Urgent Care for Kids Saves You Money
Saving time goes hand in hand with saving money. If you as a parent miss less work, it prevents you from losing wages.
PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers accept most health insurance, and your out of pocket cost will vary by your insurance coverage plan. Typically, an Urgent Care visit will have a co-pay slightly higher than a sick visit at your pediatrician, but substantially lower than an ER visit with most care fully covered.
As an example, my health insurance charges a $15 co-pay for a primary care visit, a $35 co-pay for an Urgent Care visit and $75 for an ER visit. More importantly, it waives deductibles and pays for 100% of care at an Urgent Care visit, even for non-urgent care, but only 80% after my deductible for non emergency use at an ER.
More About PhysicianOne Urgent Care
There are 18 PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York, including local centers in Orange, Hamden and the new center in Derby. All centers are open 365 days a year: 8am – 8pm Monday through Friday and 9am – 5pm on weekends and holidays. You can walk-in or visit your nearest center online to see current wait times and check-in to hold your spot before you visit.
PhysicianOne Urgent Care is also a proud Affiliate of the Yale New Haven Health System. What does this mean for you? It means seamless, continuity of care between PhysicianOne Urgent Care and your Yale-New Haven Health System affiliated primary care physician, with care documented in your electronic medical record. All centers are managed by the same executive team, and all 18 centers are certified and accredited by the Urgent Care Association of America.
When you visit a PhysicianOne Urgent Care center, there are always physicians, physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners on staff, as well as a physician on call. The PhysicianOne Urgent Care center in my town is staffed by Dr. Tina Rose, a former Pediatrics professor at Yale with years of emergency pediatrics experience, and Michael Ascenzia, PA-C, specializing in Emergency Medicine.
PhysicianOne Urgent Care centers are a valuable part of our community, and can be an invaluable part of your family’s health care. Currently, PhysicianOne is running a Back to School Thank a Teacher campaign. Nominate a teacher or administrator who has made a difference in your child’s life. The school district with the most nominations will receive a donation from PhysicianOne for the 2017-2018 school year.
Has your family ever used urgent care for kids? If not, after learning more about urgent care centers, will you in the future? For more Savvy Mom recommendations to help you manage your family’s healthcare and finances, be sure to follow my Health & Safety for Kids and Family Financial Savvy boards on Pinterest.
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