Immediate Care: How to Get Help Amid Rural Hospital Closures

Recently, Chrystal A. Sumrall, MD, FAAFP, with Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care – Laurel spoke with WJTV about how people can still receive care fast amid rural hospital closures. As these facilities close, urgent cares fill the gap for patients seeking treatment quickly.

When you need treatment fast, an urgent care facility provides timely care that fits your schedule. With convenient online booking, urgent cares can get you scheduled, treated and on the road to recovery, all in the same day.

In this Article:

  • Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care: Convenient Care for Minor Illnesses & Injuries
  • What an Urgent Care Can Treat Right Now
  • What to Expect During an Immediate Care Visit
  • Why Patients Choose Urgent Care Instead of Waiting
  • How Immediate Care Connects Back to the Rest of Your Care
  • Easy Ways to Prepare for Your Visit
  • Why Choose Hattiesburg Clinic for Immediate Care

Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care: Convenient Care for Minor Illnesses & Injuries

Immediate care is the convenient, practical choice when you need care fast. With the ability to treat fever, cough, rash, urinary tract infection, eye infection, sprain, minor laceration and other acute illnesses or injuries, urgent care facilities offer treatment to patients who need quick access to care.

“An urgent care facility is typically an outpatient clinic. It is set up and designed to handle more acute minor illnesses or injuries,” Chrystal A. Sumrall, MD, FAAFP, with Hattiesburg Clinic Laurel Family Medicine and Immediate Care – Laurel said.

What Urgent Care Can Treat Right Now

Acute care services, like those offered at an urgent care, are designed to provide timely, comprehensive care for sudden health concerns including infection, minor injuries, sudden fevers, severe coughs, stomach issues and more.

“So, say you wake up first thing in the morning, you’re running a fever, you have a cough, a cold, a rash, some sort of acute infection like a bladder infection, an eye infection, the urgent care center is perfect for that because you have more immediate access to care,” Dr. Sumrall said.

Acute care addresses sudden or severe health issues, including:

  • Infections like flu or pneumonia
  • Severe pain, such as abdominal or back pain
  • Shortness of breath or asthma flare-ups
  • Sprains, minor fractures, burns or cuts
  • Stomach issues, such as nausea or vomiting
  • Sudden high fever

Most urgent cares also offer services such as x-rays, lab testing, vaccinations and physical exams.

What to Expect During an Immediate Care Visit

A visit to a Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care location begins with an online or over-the-phone booking. Once you arrive to the immediate care location, you will check-in and be evaluated by a physician or provider who will determine what tests need to be taken, lab work needs to be performed, or imaging needs to be done. While most immediate care locations do have access to on-site x-rays, if other imaging services are needed, the physician or provider can make a referral.

Once a diagnosis has been made, the immediate care physician can supply you with the proper treatment plan, including prescriptions, return to home/school/work instructions and referrals for follow-up care.

“They can run the tests and do what’s necessary to get you back out and going again,”Sumrall said.

Why Patients Choose Urgent Care Instead of Waiting

Urgent care facilities are convenient, and with extended hours and weekend availability, appointments can be made to fit your schedule. And, when symptoms are acute, same-day appointments offer more immediate access to care.

Oftentimes, visits to the emergency room require long wait times and higher costs than the average urgent care visit, causing undue stress. Whether you are a working parent, busy adult or just need answers fast, immediate care can reduce the stress of illness or injury and allow you to focus on healing.

Urgent care clinics traditionally treat minor injuries or acute illnesses. Contrarily, emergency rooms provide critical care for life-threatening conditions like severe chest pain, uncontrolled bleeding and anaphylactic reactions. If you are still deciding between urgent care and the ER, read our guide on urgent care vs. emergency room.

How Immediate Care Connects Back to the Rest of Your Care

At Hattiesburg Clinic, urgent care is not isolated care. It connects back to a larger continuum of primary and specialty care through follow-up visits and referrals. While urgent care facilities are convenient for acute illnesses and injuries when they arise, immediate care appointments should not replace routine visits with a primary care physician.

“Primary care physicians are still the best access to any sort of health care,” Sumrall said. Establishing routine care with a primary care physician can help patients live healthier lives, experience shorter recoveries and prevent illnesses that may arise from undiagnosed conditions.

Easy Ways to Prepare for Your Visit

When visiting a Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care location, there are a few things you should bring with you.

  • Photo ID
  • Insurance card
  • Updated list of medications
  • A brief timeline of symptoms
  • Relevant allergy information
  • Prior test results, if applicable

Why Choose Hattiesburg Clinic for Immediate Care?

Immediate Care physicians and providers at Hattiesburg Clinic offer expert care, quick access and seamless follow-up to ensure patients receive timely and high-quality medical attention, offering same-day appointments and express scheduling options. Immediate Care locations are staffed by board-certified physicians and advanced practice providers who are equipped to treat a broad range of acute conditions. Telemedicine options are available for certain conditions, allowing patients to consult with a trusted physician from the comfort and privacy of their home. Hattiesburg Clinic provides comprehensive care with advanced testing and diagnostics on-site, ensuring faster results and better continuity of care. The clinics’ on-site diagnostics, including EKGs, X-rays, and laboratory services, facilitate rapid testing and results.

Find your nearest Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care location today and receive care from a physician when you need it most.

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About Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care – Laurel:

Hattiesburg Clinic Immediate Care – Laurel offers extended hours and weekend services for patients who suffer from acute illnesses and/or minor emergencies that need immediate attention. The physicians also provide referrals to Hattiesburg Clinic’s specialists for treatment of ongoing problems.

About Hattiesburg Clinic:

Hattiesburg Clinic is Mississippi’s largest privately-owned, multispecialty clinic. Founded in 1963, Hattiesburg Clinic has expanded to include over 450 physicians and providers, along with 2,500 employees, serving patients across more than 17 counties in Mississippi. Hattiesburg Clinic is committed to being the health care provider of choice in the communities we serve.