The Differences Between an Emergency Room & Urgent Care
When You Should Go to the ER Versus Urgent Care
It can be difficult to know when to seek care at an urgent care facility or when to go to the nearest emergency room. When experiencing severe pain or feeling ill, you may not be able to assess whether you have a true emergency.
Emergency Departments Are Best Suited for Life-Threatening Conditions
If you have any of the following symptoms, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest medical center emergency room:
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Sudden blurred vision, dizziness, weakness or loss of coordination/balance
- Numbness in the arm, leg or face
- Severe abdominal pain or headache
- Bleeding that will not stop
- Coughing up or vomiting blood
- Severe burns or life-threatening injury
- Seizures
Salinas Valley Health Medical Center's Emergency Department is open 24 hours every day. No appointments are necessary, although the most critically ill patients are always treated first.
Check In From Home!
InQuicker™ is our online waiting service that enables individuals with non-life-threatening medical conditions to check in for projected treatment times prior to being seen by a healthcare professional at a medical facility. Learn more here.
Urgent care deals with moderate or serious non-life-threatening situations, including:
- Cuts
- Broken bones
- Vomiting and nausea
- Headaches
- Abdominal pain
- Illness or other non-life-threatening conditions
Urgent Care facilities, such as Doctors on Duty, are typically open every day, including weekends and holidays, and have early morning and evening hours. Appointments are not needed and patients are usually seen in the order in which they arrive. Urgent care is generally covered by most insurance programs.
In an Urgent Care facility, board-certified physicians, registered nurses and other medical professionals – who are skilled in emergency medicine – provide care for patients. They examine each patient, and if true emergency care is required, the patient can then be referred or transferred directly to the nearest Emergency Room.
For less serious health concerns, visit one of our affiliated Doctors on Duty or Urgent Care centers. Locations are listed here.
A doctor’s office provides ongoing care for:
- Illness
- Follow-up to emergency treatment
- Chronic conditions
- Health checkups
- Immunizations
-
CSUMB Campus Health Center
Healthcare System
100 Campus Center , Building 80
Seaside, CA 93955
831-582-3965 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Abbott Street
Urgent Care
558 Abbott Street, Suite A
Salinas, CA 93901
831-755-7880 More Information -
Doctors on Duty - Aptos
Urgent Care
6800 Soquel Drive
Aptos, CA 95003
831-662-3611 More Information -
Doctors on Duty - Harden
Urgent Care
1756 N Main St
Salinas, CA 93906
831-443-8200 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Marina
Urgent Care
3130 Del Monte Boulevard
Marina, CA 93933
831-883-3330 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Monterey- Lighthouse Avenue
Urgent Care
501 Lighthouse Avenue
Monterey, CA 93940
831-649-0770 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Salinas
Urgent Care
1212 South Main Street
Salinas, CA 93901
831-422-7777 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Santa Cruz
Urgent Care
615 Ocean Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-425-7991 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Seaside
Urgent Care
1513 Fremont Boulevard , Suite E1
Seaside, CA 93955
831-899-1910 More Information -
Doctors On Duty - Watsonville
Urgent Care
1505 Main Street
Watsonville, CA 95076
831-722-1444 More Information