Today marks the opening of the first Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinic, which will offer high-quality, efficient and affordable pediatric care after hours, closer to home.
“Texas Children’s Urgent Care was created to respond to the growing need for expert pediatric urgent care after hours,” says Randall Wright, executive vice president of Texas Children’s Hospital. “Our clinics are conveniently located in your neighborhood, and available evenings and weekends, to continue our commitment to providing care to all patients and families in the Houston community.”
Texas Children’s Urgent Care is open Monday through Friday, 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. Clinics are staffed by board certified pediatricians who have privileges at Texas Children’s Hospital. Pediatricians diagnose and treat a wide variety of ailments, illnesses and conditions, including: asthma, strep throat, fever, minor burns, influenza, ear infections, allergic reactions and more. Procedures provided include: antibiotic injections, breathing treatments, fracture care and splinting, IV (intravenous) fluids, lab services, laceration repair and x-rays on-site.
“We are excited to bring this expert urgent care model to the Houston community,” says Dr. Gary Gerlacher, Texas Children’s Urgent Care lead physician. “In my experience, I’ve seen firsthand how the urgent care setting has truly helped fill a void in treatment for children and their families.”
The first Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinic is located at Cinco Ranch, and the second, scheduled to open this summer, will be in the Town & Country area.
Oftentimes, families turn to an emergency center after hours, on weekends or perhaps even during the day, when a significant event occurs with their child. Though the emergency center is the right place for some incidents or ailments, the majority of the time, minor illnesses can and should be treated at a pediatric urgent care facility.
Texas Children’s Urgent Care accepts major insurance plans and has self-pay rates, which are less than emergency center charges, and there are no hospital fees. A complete list of insurance plans is available on the website. Texas Children’s Urgent Care specializes in after hours care, but does not replace the need for children to have a general pediatrician. Routine physical exams and vaccinations are services that should be obtained from a general pediatrician, and these services are not available at Texas Children’s Urgent Care.