Urgent Care or the Emergency Room?


Your child spikes a fever or is having trouble stopping throwing up. Maybe they have had a spill and you’re wondering if it’s a break or simply a sprain. Should you try Urgent Care, or should you visit the emergency room?

Dr. Eric Jorge is a pediatric emergency medicine fellow at Children’s of Alabama. He’s seen children come to the emergency department who could have been treated at home. “It’s always a good place to start if your child is sick or has a fever, to call your on-call pediatrician or nurse,” Dr. Jorge says. “They can help guide you as to whether it’s appropriate to seek care in the emergency department or not.”

You should always take your child to the emergency department in a true emergency, according to Jorge. These signs include:

Go to the emergency room for:

• serious injury
• persistent vomiting
• trouble breathing
• not drinking enough, not urinating enough
• unusual sleepiness or confusion
• a head injury with vomiting
• eye injury
• serious burns
• ingested poison or unknown substance

Call 911 if your child:

• isn’t breathing or is turning blue
• is unconscious after a fall
• is having a seizure
• has a serious allergic reaction
• has broken a bone that sticks out through the skin
• is choking
• has a large cut that is bleeding uncontrollably 

But an urgent care facility may be just the ticket in a number of situations, especially when the pediatrician’s office is full or after their normal hours. “With an on-site lab, x-ray and pharmacy, our licensed pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners are equipped to treat everything from broken bones to lacerations needing stitches to strep, RSV, flu and more,” says Anna Peacock of Urgent Care for Children.

One of the most important questions a parent should ask themselves when deciding whether to take their child to Urgent Care for Children or the emergency room is if their child’s illness or injury is life-threatening, Peacock adds. “We at UC4C are able to provide care for kiddos with non-life-threatening medical needs, but on the other hand, the emergency room should be utilized when children face life-threatening conditions.” 

Other reasons to go to the emergency room:

• difficulty breathing
• severe allergic reactions
• deep lacerations exposing fatty tissue
• cuts to fingers, feet or face
• infants under 2 months old running fever of 100.4 or higher

Some benefits to being able to access urgent care as an alternative to the emergency room may the wait time. “The average wait time at an emergency room can be four to six hours. At UC4C, wait times will vary based on season and patient volume, but you can expect a much shorter wait time,” Peacock says. You can even save your child’s spot online. In addition, Peacock says, you will find that your co-pay at urgent care is cheaper than a co-pay at a hospital ER.

Jorge stresses the importance of every child having a pediatrician. Through an established relationship with a pediatrician, a child can receive better long-term and care, and there is always someone on call 24-7 to help determine the best treatment for your child when you’re not sure if you need to take them to the emergency department. 

For more about Children’s of Alabama, visit www.childrensalorg.  For more about Urgent Care for Children, visit www.childrensurgent.com.