Urgent Care

They’re spread throughout Lee County. But when should you use Convenient Care and when is it time to go straight to the emergency department? “The emergency room is where we really, really encourage patients to go when they have chest pain, they are short of breath, they’re having stroke symptoms, which most people know what those are, they might have a broken leg or a broken arm, and the bone is actually sticking out of the person,” said Suzanne Fiscella, a nurse practitioner with Lee Health. Health experts say it’s important to make an appointment with your primary care physician if you have any medical concerns, but if a patient can’t wait to see their doctor, convenient cares are equipped to help. If a patient has flu-like symptoms, a sudden rash, a minor laceration or a broken bone, Convenient Care is the place to go, if you can’t get in with your primary care physician. “We do take you in priority. If you’re having chest pain or something like that, we’ll pull you back, but we’ll also get you out by ambulance faster,” said Fiscella. If a patient needs emergency care, an ambulance can transfer them from Convenient Care to a hospital emergency department. “If the patient has hit their head or they lost consciousness they need to go to the ER because they have a CT scan,” she said. After leaving Convenient Care, it’s important patients follow up with their physician. “Take for instance pneumonia, even though we might treat pneumonia at the urgent care or Convenient Care we want to make sure that someone has listened to those lungs down the road,” said Fiscella. Convenient Care can offer care for patients who don’t need immediate medical care but who can’t wait to see their doctor.