Where to Go: Express Care, Urgent Care or the Emergency Room
When your child needs medical care and can’t wait until your doctor’s office opens, where should you go? This chart will help you know whether a visit to Urgent Care, Express Care or the Emergency Room. In a life-threatening emergency, call 911.
Choosing the right place for care
| Symptom | Emergency Room | Urgent Care | Express Care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allergies | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Animal bite | ✓ | Minor | Minor – no stitches |
| Asthma attack | Severe | Mild to moderate | |
| Bleeding that won’t stop | ✓ | ||
| Broken bone | Looks bent, curved or deformed | Not bent, only children > 1 year old | Not bent, only children > 1 year old Select care at the Orthopedic Injury Clinic |
| Bronchiolitis | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Burn | ✓ | Minor, only children > 1 year old | Minor, only children > 1 year old |
| Cast problems | ✓ | Only at Ortho Injury locations | |
| Cold or cough | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Cut | ✓ | Minor – glue, stitches or staple repair | Minor – glue or staple repair |
| Dehydration | ✓ | ✓ | No IV fluids |
| Diarrhea | With blood and fever | ✓ | ✓ |
| Earache and ear infection | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Fainting | ✓ | ||
| Fever | Infant less than 2 months old | Children over 2 months old | Children over 2 months old |
| Foreign object removal | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Head injury | Loss of consciousness/vomiting or extreme impact | No loss of consciousness/vomiting, minor impact | |
| Insect bite | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Migraine or severe headache | ✓ | ||
| Motor vehicle collision | ✓ | ||
| Nausea, vomiting | ✓ | No IV fluids | |
| Neck injury | ✓ | ||
| Pink eye | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Pneumonia | Diagnosed with worsening symptoms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Poisoning | ✓ | ||
| Rash | ✓ | Minor | |
| Seizure | ✓ | ||
| Sprain or strain | ✓ | ✓ Select care at the Orthopedic Injury Clinic |
|
| Stomach pain | Severe or concern for appendicitis | Mild | Mild |
| Swallowed object | ✓ | Not magnet or battery | Not magnet or battery |
| Trouble breathing | ✓ | ||
| Urinary infection | ✓ | ||
| Ultrasound, CT scan or MRI | ✓ |