Seattle Children’s will open a walk-in Seattle Urgent Care Clinic at its main hospital in Seattle’s Laurelhurst neighborhood tonight.
The medical center hopes the new clinic will provide an alternative care option to the hospital’s Emergency Room for children needing non-emergency medical attention in the evenings, over the weekends and during the holidays.
Out-of-pocket costs for urgent care are typically less than an emergency room visit, the hospital noted.
Seattle Childrens already operates an urgent care clinic in Bellevue.
Hours of operation at the Seattle Urgent Care Clinic will be the same as Bellevue Children’s Urgent Care Clinic:
- Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.;
- and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
No appointment or referral is necessary.
“When the doctor’s office is closed, our Urgent Care Clinics can provide care for a child’s non-emergency illness or injury that can’t wait for routine office assessment,” said Rebecca Partridge, MD, director of Seattle Children’s Urgent Care Clinics.
The new clinic is located located on the fourth floor of the hospital’s Whale building in an area that during the day is used for regularly scheduled clinic appointments.
Children’s Urgent Care Clinics are not intended for acute or life-threatening emergencies, but are appropriate for minor illnesses and injuries such as sprains, cuts, head injuries without loss of consciousness, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, earaches, and mild asthma attacks, the hospital stressed.
In the event that a child has a more vital medical need, Children’s Urgent Care Clinics’ medical staff will transport the patient to Children’s ER. In the case of the main hospital location, the Children’s ER is within walking distance.
Remember, if your child’s illness or injury is life-threatening, call 911.
To help parents determine whether a visit to Children’s Urgent Care Clinics or the ER is best, Childrens has prepared a video: Should I Take My Child to the Emergency Room or Urgent Care?
Links
- Seattle Children’s Hospital Urgent Care Clinic
