If you grew up with asthma in the 1960s, you likely have some memories of some pretty long nights and some pretty strong tasting cough syrup. In fact, you likely grew to hate even the mention of any cough syrup. Whether is was a sickly sweet grape tasting purple or a bitter tasting clear color, you may have gagged at the just the smell, not to mention the taste. If you were able to swallow it you may have tried to chase it down, even though your mom seemed to think that it wouldn?t work if you drank water right away.
The memories of the long nights, however, might be even more strong than the memories of the unforgettable cough syrup. The nights seemed long because you were often awake, propped up on pillows, and trying to figure out how to breath. Before quick rescue inhalers, nebulizers, and daily asthma medication, kids with asthma in the 1960s had very few options.
In fact, short of waking their parents up who would then decide to take the child to the hospital emergency room, there were no options.
Today, however, children and parents who deal with the symptoms and conditions of asthma have a very easy, convenient, and affordable option. They can simply go to the nearest urgent care services that are open 24 hours when they need medical help.
Instead of going to expensive emergency rooms, or waiting for a daytime appointment at a pediatric office, today’s young asthma patients can get the care they need without an appointment at an affordable urgent care services setting. In many cases, these urgent care clinics are located in within less than a mile or two of many residential areas in many large cities.
After Hour Health Clinics Provide Needed Care Options
You do not need to be a young child with asthma to need the care options provided by urgent care services. The majority of urgent care centers provide services to patients of all ages. In fact, more than 20% of urgent care services locations have more than 450 patient visits a week. These visits represent patients of all ages. And no matter what age the patient is, the visits are often popular because of their convenience. Consider the following statistics about the convenience of urgent care settings:
- 60% of all urgent care centers have a wait time of less than 15 minutes for patients to get to see a physician or mid-level provider.
- 57% of patients wait 15 minutes or less to be seen.
- 80% of all visits are 60 minutes or less.
- 66% of urgent care centers are open before 9:00 am during the week.
- 31% of urgent care centers are open before 9:00 am on Sunday.
- 90% of urgent care centers are stay open past 7:00 pm on weeknights.
- 40% of urgent care centers are stay open past 9:00 pm on weeknights.
While convenient and timely care may be the hallmark of an urgent care service, this is not always the case at a regular doctor’s or pediatrician’s office or in an emergency room. Appointments for family physicians and family pediatricians often have to be made weeks, and sometimes even months, in advance. While a few time slots might be available for “sick visits,” those slots often fill up quickly.
Emergency rooms have an entirely different protocol for caring for patients. There triage care model dictates, rightly so, that the staff care for the most critical patients first. This is part of the reason why emergency room visits can last for hours, instead of minutes at an urgent care services provider.
Urgent Care Settings Provide a Wealth of Services
Convenient and quick care is not the only reason to visit an urgent care service. At most locations, a wide range of care options are available to patients who visit. Some of these services include the following: