How to determine whether to visit Rapid Care, the ER, or primary care
There are instances of injury and illness in everyone’s lives that may not warrant a visit to an emergency room, yet are too urgent to wait for an opening with a primary care physician. For such circumstances, Ridge residents can visit Adventist Health’s Rapid Care clinic at the Feather River Health Center.
“It’s a same-day, walk-in clinic that fills that hole in health care needs,” explained Levi Gore, a nurse practitioner at the clinic. Rapid Care opened in 2019 after the previous year’s devastating Camp Fire led to the loss of full-service hospital and emergency room facilities at Feather River Hospital. “It allows Adventist Health to fulfill their commitment to the community within the constraints of regulations, community needs, staffing, and other issues following the fire.”
The clinic operates best when patients know the proper level of care to seek for their needs—Rapid Care, an emergency room, or their primary care provider. Gore offered tips to help people determine when Rapid Care is the right choice.
“What we handle are pretty straightforward things that don’t require a lot of testing, resources, or referrals,” he said. “We’re not an emergency room or a full urgent care … think of it as ‘urgent care light.’”
Gore said that people should always trust their gut and call 9-1-1 or seek emergency help if they’re in doubt: “I’d rather people err on that side if there’s ever a question. But if it’s less urgent and they’re on the fence about where they need to go, they can ask themselves a few questions to help make that determination.
“The first question is, ‘Is this potentially life-threatening?’ The second is, ‘Is this something that needs to be seen right now?’ If the answer is yes to either, then please call 9-1-1 or go to an emergency room. If it’s something that can wait a while then make an appointment with primary care, but if it can’t wait that long that’s where Rapid Care comes in.”
He cited minor cuts and burns, coughs, colds, mild headaches, urinary tract infections, and simple sprains and strains as appropriate causes for a rapid care visit. “If it’s something that requires same-day lab work or any sort of advanced imaging, we don’t have those abilities. Young children with high fevers, falling from a substantial height, or losing consciousness are examples of reasons for an immediate ER visit.
“On the other side, routine medication refills and workups for conditions that have been present for a long time are better handled by primary care. Your doctor can do those things better … they know their patients and have that relationship with them.”
Whatever the condition, Gore urged patients to seek all levels of care in a timely manner: “We see a lot of people that put things off for too long, and by the time they come to us something that could have been simple becomes a much bigger deal. They might end up needing a hospital visit because they’ve become much sicker.”
Feather River Health Center is currently undergoing $2.4 million dollars in renovations, part of which is being used to improve the Rapid Care location: “It’s been in part of the building that was previously used for multiple specialty purposes, and is moving to a different part of the building,” Gore said. “We’ll be better able to serve patients because it’s right inside the door and it will have its own, dedicated space.”
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