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They’re not pleasant scenarios: You’ve had an accident and sustained a significant injury. Or your loved one has become seriously ill. Or you’re experiencing a medical issue and you’re not sure whether immediate medical care is warranted, but you don’t want to take any chances. In these circumstances, do you head for the urgent care center or the emergency room? What are the criteria to make one or the other appropriate for your situation? 

At Fountain Hills Medical Center we want to make sure you are equipped to make the logical, safest choice for where to go for medical treatment. So, if the time comes that you need to make a decision quickly, you’re informed and confident despite the stress of a medical issue.

Since we offer both a Fountain Hills emergency room and a Fountain Hills urgent care center, we have great information on the benefits of visiting each one for your medical needs. Plus, our urgent care center is located in the same building as our emergency room, meaning that patients in urgent care requiring a higher level of attention, traveling to the ER side is easy and convenient.

Here is what you need to know about the FHMC emergency room:

Our Fountain Hills emergency room is the first physician-owned free-standing ER in the state of Arizona. The medical professionals who own the facility are also the physicians who work here. It is open 24 hours a day, has short wait times, and is able to provide reliable, rapid care to all who come in with an emergent need. Our ER is equipped with eight ER beds, five observation beds, a full radiology department, CT, X-ray, ultrasound, EKG capabilities, and laboratory services. 

While we strive to provide emergency care that is affordable, emergency room visits are billed to your insurance at a higher amount than urgent care visits. Your insurance is mandated by federal law to pay at least the in-network rates for your ER visit, allowing you to utilize the ER closest to you without worrying about cost differentiation. We do not hold our patients responsible for high deductibles. Under Federal Law, if you are insured, you have the right to visit any Emergency Room of your choice without worrying about your Insurance penalizing you regardless of whether the facility is part of your insurance network or not. Our Facility specifically does not hold our patients responsible for high deductibles and we do not balance bill. Balance billing is illegal under Federal law.  

Our emergency room allows access to care more quickly, and also access to special medical equipment for emergency tests and scanning.

Here’s just a partial list of what constitutes an emergency room visit:

• Sudden onset of severe symptoms
• Sudden, severe pain or loss of use in any part of body, including pain in chest, arm, jaw
• Inability to breathe normally
• Severe allergic reaction
• Uncontrollable bleeding
• Change in mental status or becoming unconscious
• Any life-threatening issue

Here is what you need to know about the FHMC urgent care center:

Our Fountain Hills urgent care center offers easy access to medical assistance in a hurry, with no appointment needed. We offer timely care and consultation for issues that vary from non-urgent or routine to more urgent in nature. Our urgent care center is open outside of regular primary care office hours, making it a convenient option. 

Here’s a partial list of what constitutes an urgent care center visit:

• A minor fracture or sprain
• Skin infections or rashes
• Cuts that need stitches but are not bleeding severely
• A significant fever or flu, and severe symptoms related to those
• Urinary tract infections
• Breathing difficulties that are not emergent

To break it down clearly for our patients, life-threatening emergencies require a visit to The Fountain Hills Medical emergency room. An illness or injury that does not appear to be life-threatening but still needs treatment in the next 24 hours should be treated at the Fountain Hills Medical urgent care center.

We’re thrilled to offer both modes of care to the residents of Fountain Hills in the same building. Whether you make an appointment to be seen at our Fountain Hills primary care office, or walk in to our urgent care or emergency departments, you’ll soon realize that you made the right decision in choosing FHMC. We’re here for you no matter the day or time and we’re excited to partner with you to provide you with the very best medical care that’s right in your community.

Sources:

• uchicagomedicine.org
• mountsinai.org