MyChart Login
By Jacque Dotson, FNP-BC, ENP-C
MCHC Health Centers has an urgent care service called Same-Day Care, designed to help people with medical problems that shouldn’t wait but don’t necessarily require a visit to a hospital emergency room.
During the holidays, we often get out of our routines and this can lead to the need for urgent care. You may go hiking and get a bad case of poison oak. You may burn yourself while making Christmas cookies. You may overdo it while decorating and pull a muscle in your back. You may get distracted by little ones running around and take a tumble or slam your finger in a car door. The possibilities are endless.
Before I go on, let me say that if you are having a medical emergency, dial 911 or go to the ER. If you have chest pain, feel like you cannot breathe, are having stroke symptoms, are bleeding uncontrollably, are severely dehydrated, or have bones that are clearly broken and going in odd directions–Same-Day Care is NOT the right choice.
If, on the other hand, you wake up with a terrible sore throat or earache, or if it suddenly burns when you pee, come on in to Same-Day Care and we can most likely take care of things right then and there.
There are a limited number of slots for same-day services. These are not appropriate for problems related to chronic, ongoing care, nor are they appropriate to make up for the fact that you forgot to make an appointment for your child’s sports physical and now the deadline is looming, or that you forgot to make an appointment to renew your regular prescription.
Same-day slots are also not appropriate to get referrals for specialty care. A referring provider receives all the updates on your specialty care–that should be your primary care provider, not an urgent care provider who does not know your health history and who won’t be the one caring for you in the future.
Same-Day Care is for when you think to yourself, “I don’t believe I need to go to the ER, but if I don’t take care of this problem, I could end up there.”
A good use of Same-Day Care is when you experience a sudden change for the worse–maybe a high fever, a bad cough, a new injury or pain, or something that seemed okay yesterday but doesn’t today. If your cut from yesterday suddenly looks red and swollen, feels hot, and has a red streak extending from it, get it checked out. (Just so you know, if you have a laceration, which is a jagged wound or cut, it’s important to get it repaired within 24 hours.)
Another good use of Same-Day Care is when your child spends the night crying and pulling at her ear instead of sleeping. Kids need sleep. Parents need sleep.
Be aware that coming in for a same-day appointment doesn’t mean you won’t have to go to the ER. Health centers like MCHC can order lab and imaging tests, but we cannot get results within hours like a hospital ER. Also, if you need specialty care, you may be sent to the hospital for further workup. Let’s say you come in with really bad abdominal pain and a high fever, you may need a surgical evaluation and a blood test to check for a surgical emergency, like appendicitis or incarcerated hernia.
Mostly, our bodies are good at fighting infection and repairing wounds, but sometimes we need a little help. A fever is your body’s way of fighting infection, so although fevers make us feel hot, tired, and achy, they are doing their job.
If an infection is caused by a bacteria, we can sometimes prescribe antibiotics to support the fight. If the infection is viral, we can sometimes prescribe antiviral medication–but often, all we can do is treat the symptoms until our bodies repair themselves. So, if you have a mild stomach virus, for example, an antibiotic won’t help. You can get lots of rest, drink plenty of fluids (an ounce every ten minutes), eat a mild BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast), and wait it out.
No matter what, at MCHC we are here to help. Same-Day Care is available at different MCHC sites on different days in Ukiah, Willits, and Lakeport, so just call us and we’ll let you know what’s open.
Jacque Dotson is a board-certified family and emergency nurse practitioner, at MCHC Health Centers—a local, non-profit, federally qualified health center offering medical, dental, and behavioral health care to people in Lake and Mendocino Counties.