Postby pj bennett » Wed Mar 28, 2018 1:45 pm
Thank you for the clarification and sound advice, Bill.
I agree with you, that there is no reason to use the Lakewood ‘Emergency Room’, especially when there is an Urgent Care facility located at 11716 Detroit Ave. (The former Payless Shoe location.)
Urgent Care is open 7 days a week. While not open 24 hours, I’m of the belief, that if something happened during the night, and I was in need of immediate attention…. then, I need an Emergency Room that is within a hospital. Not an Urgent Care. Not the Lakewood 'Emergency Room'.
From what I have found out, the only services that the Lakewood ‘Emergency Room’ can provide, that the Urgent Care cannot, are a CAT scan, ultrasound (though I’m unsure if the ultrasound is actually on-site, or if it needs to be brought in) and a lab with same-day results.
Urgent Care also provides lab services, but results are next day, rather than same-day.
Urgent Care took excellent care of me, when I accidentally sheared off a part of my index finger with battery-operated garden shears.
The gap was too wide to stitch, so the physician gave my finger a local, and then proceeded to cauterize the wound with silver nitrate.
Follow-up care was provided for the following 5 weeks, until my finger was healed.
(I could have followed up with a wound care specialist, but I saw no need, as I was quite pleased with the care I was being provided.)
According to their web site, Urgent Care has medical services for cold and flu, asthma, respiratory infections, sinus infections, cuts and scrapes, migraines, burns, rashes, sprains and strains, simple fracture, digital X-ray, school physicals, sports physicals, urinary tract infections, strep, mono and lab on-site. Care for allergic reactions, a travel clinic and physical therapy services are also available.
It is my understanding, that since the Lakewood ‘Emergency Room’ cannot provide general anesthesia, no emergency surgical procedures can be performed. The Lakewood ‘Emergency Room’ will try to stabilize an individual, but the patient will still have to be transported to a hospital.
I still don’t understand why the 8 people, who suffered smoke inhalation from the fire on Arliss, were taken to Metro and Fairview. I understand that Metro is THE go-to burn unit, but I don't think these people had burns.
But, why were 4 folks taken to Fairview? Doesn’t the Lakewood ‘Emergency Room’ have the oxygen and whatever else is needed, to provide care for smoke inhalation? If not, then this Lakewood ‘Emergency Room’ is even worse than I thought.
The fees submitted to insurance (for my injury) were much lower than if I had gone to the Lakewood 'Emergency Room'. Medicare and my co-insurance paid my bills in full. There were no facility fees and no hidden costs.