PeaceHealth Announces Saturday Urgent Care Service

— from Amy Cloud, Senior Communication Specialist, PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center —

PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center (PIMC), the San Juan Islands’ only critical access hospital, will begin Saturday urgent care service on June 7.

The urgent care service will replace the current scheduled-visit, primary care clinic on Saturdays. PIMC urgent care will be available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday urgent care providers will be able to treat common illnesses such as colds, the flu, ear aches, sore throats, migraines, fever, rashes, as well as minor injuries such as sprains, back pain, minor cuts and burns, or minor eye injuries. The charge for these services will be similar to the charge for care provided in a routine primary care office visit.

Emergency Department (ED) nursing staff will triage and determine if you meet these urgent care criteria as listed above.

If you do not meet the criteria and need more emergent care you will be seen as an Emergency Department patient. It is also important to know:

• Narcotic refills will not be granted for patients who are on a pain contract. All of these requests will be required to go through your pharmacy or your primary care provider.
•  The Saturday Urgent Care Service will operate on a first come, first served basis. If there are critical ED patients being cared for, your health care needs will be assessed and you may be asked to wait.
• Depending on how many patients are being treated in the ED, you may either be sent out to the waiting room where you will be treated on a first come, first served basis (after all emergent patients are taken care of), or may be taken directly in to be seen by a physician.

All Saturday patients should enter through the Emergency Department entrance; the main clinic entrance will not be open. For more information, please phone (360) 378- 1705.

PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center includes a 10-bed critical access hospital, primary care and specialty clinics, a cancer center, expanded diagnostic and treatment services, an operating suite for outpatient procedures and a 24-hour emergency department. PeaceHealth Peace Island operates as part of PeaceHealth’s Northwest Network, which includes PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, PeaceHealth United General Medical Center in Sedro-Woolley, several PeaceHealth Medical Group primary care and specialty clinics, cardiovascular and cancer centers, diagnostic laboratory and imaging services. PeaceHealth, with medical centers in Alaska, Washington and Oregon, is a not-for-profit health care system founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1891.