AFC Urgent Care vs. Emergency Rooms in West Chester, PA

When You Should Use an Urgent Care Center Instead of an ER.

Illnesses and injuries are unavoidable and always seem to strike at the worst times. You twist your ankle galloping down the stairs. You cut your finger, trying to spread butter on an asiago bagel. Perhaps you are awoken in the middle of the night by an ill child or elderly parent you are caring for at home. If you are dealing with any of these medical issues with yourself or others, the last thing you want to do is spend hours (over 2 hours on average in the West Chester area) waiting in an emergency room. On top of that, you will likely receive a large medical bill at the end of your visit, even if you have good-quality insurance.

The emergency rooms in the West Chester area are life-saving resources vital to the health of our community. However, these resources should be saved for those experiencing a real, life-threatening medical emergency.

By law, ERs must provide care for anyone who visits their facility, regardless of their ability to pay. These emergency rooms are placed under tremendous strain when patients do not have the money to pay for the out-of-pocket expenses of their visit. On average, it will cost you about $1,500 to visit the emergency room if you are visiting with one of the ten most common types of ER visits. It is estimated that over $18 billion could be saved yearly if patients used urgent care centers instead of ERs for their nonlife-saving medical needs.

Over 70% of Americans report that their primary care doctors are unavailable on the weekends. If their regular doctor cannot see them, many assume that an ER visit is their only choice if they do not want to wait days for an appointment. Instead of taking your nonlife-threatening issues to the ER, come to AFC Urgent Care West Chester for things like strep throat, minor stitches, or even x-rays. We fill the gap between the ER and your regular doctor.

When to utilize AFC Urgent Care West Chester instead of an ER:

• Abdominal Pain
• Asthma
• Back Pain
• Bleeding from accidents, cuts, or falls
• Broken bones
• COVID-19 Testing
• Ear pain
• Eye irritation
• Fever
• Migraine
• Minor Car Accidents
• Skin rashes
• Sprains or strains
• STD tests or treatment
• Sore throat
• Urinary burning
• Vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration

Emergency Room:

• Amputations
• Breathing Obstruction
• Major Car Accidents
• Convulsions or seizures
• Difficulty breathing
• Drug overdose
• Knife or gunshot wound
• Loss of limb or severely broken bone
• Poisoning
• Pregnancy – severe abdominal pain
• Seizures/Convulsions
• Serious head, neck, or back injury
• Suspected Heart Attack or Stroke
• Unconsciousness

Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in the United States. Sprains, strains, upper respiratory infections, and superficial cuts are the most common reasons why people visit an emergency room. These ailments can easily be handled at AFC Urgent Care West Chester for a fraction of the cost and time, seven days a week, with no appointment needed.

At our walk-in urgent care center, we can treat many of your nonlife-threatening medical concerns and offer various other everyday services. Our facilities accept most major insurances, and we have affordable self-pay options for the uninsured. We aim to get you back on your feet quickly and feeling better without breaking your budget.

Additional Services You May Like:

• Digital X-Ray Services
• Lab Work
• Physicals
• Sports Injuries Treatment
• Sprain, Strain, and Broken Bones
• STD Testing
• Travel Vaccinations
• Urgent Care
• Sports Physicals
• Flu Season
• Tick Bites Treatment
• Cold Allergy Sinusitis
• Sore Throat Treatment
• STD Treatment
• Poison Ivy
• Drug Screening
• Pre Employment Physicals
• Workers Comp