Your child has an earache and you’re leaving for vacation tomorrow. Or she sprained an ankle running the bases during softball practice.
You need help, and your pediatrician’s office is closed.
Fortunately, a pediatric urgent care center can handle all of these and many other problems, including illnesses and injuries you might think require a visit to the emergency department (ED).
When you don’t really need the ED, but you don’t feel you can wait for your pediatrician’s office to open, call your child’s doctor and ask if urgent care — specifically pediatric urgent care — is the solution. These facilities treat your child when you need it — on evenings and weekends — and how you need it — with consideration for your child’s specific needs.
Benefits of pediatric urgent care
When children are sick or hurt, it’s important to turn to pediatric experts who know how to provide the specific care they need using special equipment designed just for growing kids. It’s important to make the distinction between a typical urgent care center, which sees patients of all ages — including adults — and a pediatric urgent care center. The staff of a pediatric facility — like those operated by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Abington, PA, Chalfont, PA, Glen Mills, PA, and King of Prussia, PA — are uniquely skilled in the assessment of a sick or injured child.
Kids have unique differences from adults, from their size and weight, to how they experience pain and express themselves. Assessment is critical in all healthcare but particularly in pediatrics, where it can be difficult for children to describe their symptoms. It’s your job as a parent to recognize when something isn’t right and take action. It’s the provider’s job to answer the question, “How sick is this child?” This assessment, also called triage, is very different for children than it is for adults. For a young child, it can be a thin line between “a little sick” and “dangerously ill.”
The nurses and doctors at CHOP’s pediatric Urgent Care Centers understand that children are not small adults. That’s because they’ve received pediatric training.
CHOP Urgent Care Centers are staffed by board-certified pediatricians and pediatric nurses who exclusively treat infants, children and teens. These clinicians understand the unique needs of children, as well as the techniques and treatments that work best, and they know how to talk to and provide compassionate care to kids and their families.
Your child has an earache and you’re leaving for vacation tomorrow. Or she sprained an ankle running the bases during softball practice.
You need help, and your pediatrician’s office is closed.
Fortunately, a pediatric urgent care center can handle all of these and many other problems, including illnesses and injuries you might think require a visit to the emergency department (ED).
When you don’t really need the ED, but you don’t feel you can wait for your pediatrician’s office to open, call your child’s doctor and ask if urgent care — specifically pediatric urgent care — is the solution. These facilities treat your child when you need it — on evenings and weekends — and how you need it — with consideration for your child’s specific needs.
Benefits of pediatric urgent care
When children are sick or hurt, it’s important to turn to pediatric experts who know how to provide the specific care they need using special equipment designed just for growing kids. It’s important to make the distinction between a typical urgent care center, which sees patients of all ages — including adults — and a pediatric urgent care center. The staff of a pediatric facility — like those operated by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Abington, PA, Chalfont, PA, Glen Mills, PA, and King of Prussia, PA — are uniquely skilled in the assessment of a sick or injured child.
Kids have unique differences from adults, from their size and weight, to how they experience pain and express themselves. Assessment is critical in all healthcare but particularly in pediatrics, where it can be difficult for children to describe their symptoms. It’s your job as a parent to recognize when something isn’t right and take action. It’s the provider’s job to answer the question, “How sick is this child?” This assessment, also called triage, is very different for children than it is for adults. For a young child, it can be a thin line between “a little sick” and “dangerously ill.”
The nurses and doctors at CHOP’s pediatric Urgent Care Centers understand that children are not small adults. That’s because they’ve received pediatric training.
CHOP Urgent Care Centers are staffed by board-certified pediatricians and pediatric nurses who exclusively treat infants, children and teens. These clinicians understand the unique needs of children, as well as the techniques and treatments that work best, and they know how to talk to and provide compassionate care to kids and their families.
Find a CHOP Urgent Care location near you
Our board-certified pediatricians and pediatric nurses provide fast, after-hours care for children with non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries, right in your community.
Can pediatric urgent care replace my pediatrician?
No. No one knows your child’s health like your pediatrician. Your children should always stay up to date with their regular wellness visits, and if they are sick during normal office hours, you should always look to your pediatrician first.
But when the pediatrician’s office is closed or unavailable and your child has a minor illness or injury that you think requires medical attention right away, CHOP’s Urgent Care Centers are the next best option for non-emergencies. CHOP’s pediatric Urgent Care Centers promptly communicate all of the important information from the visit to your child’s doctor.
When is a pediatric urgent care center the right choice?
If you’re able, consult with your child’s pediatrician to determine if urgent care is the right choice for your child's illness or injury. If it's after hours, call your pediatrician's office to speak with an after-hours nurse. If care can't wait until the office reopens, the teams at CHOP’s Urgent Care Centers are equipped to manage many conditions. Check out this list with more information to help you determine the best place to seek care, and what types of ailments can be handled at Urgent Care.
Unfortunately, sometimes you will be faced with a true emergency and need to take your child to an emergency department (ER) instead of urgent care. In these situations, go to the closest ER or call 911:
- Any severe or life-threatening injury or illness requiring immediate attention (including severe asthma attacks or severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis))
- Difficulty breathing
- Fever over 100.4 degrees in children younger than 2 months
- Unconsciousness followed by abnormal behavior
- Swallowed button battery
If you have mild symptoms or need a COVID-19 test, please use community testing resources instead of going to the ER. That helps free us up to care for serious medical emergencies.