Urgency or Emergency? Tips For Visiting Urgent Care in Houston

NightLight Pediatric Urgent Care Provides Immediate Care for Non-Life Threatening Illnesses and Injuries

(HOUSTON, TX) – In a sea of health care options, urgent care continues to emerge as a growing alternative to primary care physicians and emergency rooms. But while health issues themselves cause anxiety for patients, deciding where to go for care when injury and illness strike should not be an issue.

Urgent care centers offer a wide variety of services and treat a number of common non-life threatening injuries and illnesses. With many seeking treatment during the evening hours and weekends that are most convenient to them, urgent care provides a degree of flexibility that meet the needs of parents with sick kids – but it’s not appropriate for all conditions.

“With so many choices out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to deciding where to seek treatment when something is wrong,” says Dr. Anastasia Gentles, Medical Director at Nightlight Pediatric Urgent Care in Houston. “Urgent care really seeks to bridge the gap between primary care doctors, who concentrate on ongoing care of chronic conditions, and emergency rooms, which are equipped to handle true emergencies.”

When Urgent Care Is Appropriate

Dr. Anastasia Gentles advises Houston residents to turn to Nightlight Pediatric Urgent Care, located in Sugarland, Cy-fair, Pearland, Humble, and Webster, for any non-emergency illnesses affecting kids newborn to 18 years old including minor allergic reactions, ear and eye infections, sore throats and strep throat and flu-like symptoms. Broken bones, fractures, sprained ankles and dislocations also can easily be addressed.

In addition, Nightlight Pediatric Urgent Care offers pain relief, x-ray examinations, wound care, flu and fever management, and other services for children found in many urgent care centers.

“We’re here to provide quality care for situations that need addressing right away, so you don’t have to wait or make an unnecessary trip to the ER,” says Dr. Anastasia Gentles. “And with our evening and weekend hours, you can have peace of mind that we’ll be available when you need us.”

When to Visit an ER

While urgent care is a great choice for many situations, it isn’t the best option for all conditions.

“When dealing with the most serious conditions, an emergency room is the best choice for treatment,” says Dr. Anastasia Gentles. “ERs are best equipped for life-threatening injuries and illnesses, and we strongly encourage anyone who needs emergency care to go directly to the hospital.”

Patients should go directly to an emergency room for head injuries, difficulty breathing, chest pain, loss of consciousness and blurred vision.

Nightlight Pediatric Urgent Care is located in Sugarland, Cy-fair, Pearland, Humble and Webster. Patients in need of immediate, quality care for non-life threatening illnesses or injuries may visit the center weekdays 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., weekends 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., and holidays 12 p.m. – 7 p.m. No appointment is necessary. More information is available online at nlp.local Health care providers at Nightlight Pediatric Urgent Care work closely with primary care physicians to align treatment with other conditions.

NightLight Pediatric Urgent Care is the only minority and woman-owned business of its kind in the market. NightLight’s mission is to provide quality, affordable, compassionate service for infants, children and adolescents. NightLight improves quality of healthcare through its market-leading continuum of care by increasing coordination with the primary care physician in caring for their patients on an after-hours basis. More information is available at nlp.local.