Texas Children’s Main Campus Urgent Care opens

December 15, 2015

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On December 1, Texas Children’s opened an urgent care clinic on Main Campus, creating a system-wide solution to effectively manage the Emergency Center’s low acuity patient population.

The 4,100-square-foot facility is located on the second floor of the Abercrombie Building and has a dedicated staff of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and clinical support staff, all of whom have previously worked in either emergency or urgent care settings. The walls of the clinic’s 11 exam rooms, X-ray room and waiting area are covered in space-themed murals, providing a relaxed, child-friendly atmosphere.

To be seen at the clinic, patients may self select urgent care, or may initially present to the EC, where they will be assessed and then, if appropriate, transferred to the urgent care clinic. If they are transferred, the patient and their family will be escorted to the urgent care clinic’s location.

“Having this option to send low acuity patients to our onsite Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinic permits our EC faculty and staff to devote all of our time, effort and resources to providing the highest quality care to the sickest patients without inconveniencing our lower acuity arrivals,” said EC Medical Director Dr. Paul Sirbaugh. “To put it simply, the clinic will allow us to provide the Right care, at the Right place, at the Right time, for the Right price.”

After just two weeks of being open, the clinic already is lightening the load of the EC, seeing, on average, about 30 patients, or 25 percent of the EC’s patient volume, a day. In addition, wait times for patients with a low-acuity illnesses has decreased dramatically.

“Some low-acuity patients would wait 10 plus hours in the EC before being seen,” said Jeremy Trainer, the manager of the new urgent care clinic. “Now, these patients can be seen at the clinic in an hour or less.”

Karrianna Yu, a physician’s assistant who works in both the EC and the Main Campus Urgent Care Clinic, said the response from everyone – patients, their families and caregivers – has been overwhelmingly positive.

For the patients and their families, Yu said they are pleased because they are seen sooner, they get more time with their caregiver and they are treated quicker in a lower stress environment than the EC. For caregivers, it allows them to focus on what they really need to be doing, which is taking care of high-acuity patients in the EC and low-acuity ones in the urgent care clinic.

“It’s a win for all involved,” Yu said.

Hours of operation
Monday through Friday, 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday through Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.

Types of conditions treated