Convenient Care - Bonita Health Center

Dr. Karen Calkins is the Medical Director for Lee Convenient Care. She said they can help treat a variety of things in these urgent care facilities. “We definitely see a lot of people for cough and colds, bronchitis, all those respiratory type symptoms. We also see them for things like urine infections, things like that, injuries, minor injuries, minor lacerations, rashes.”

They’re trained to see patients of all ages. Each Convenient Care is also equipped with X-Ray capabilities. “We will also do things like minor sprains. We can do x-rays like ankle x-ray, knee x-ray, chest x-ray for pneumonia, those kind of things,” said Dr. Calkins.

Convenient Care is great if you have a non-life threatening emergency, if you’re dealing with the flu, or if you’re unable to get an appointment with your primary care provider for routine injuries and illnesses. “As far as this versus an emergency department, certainly there’s usually less of a wait here. The turnaround time is pretty quick, and in and out and it tends to free up the emergency departments also for some of the sicker patients that they need to see,” said Dr. Calkins.

It also may be more cost effective. “In general, an urgent care visit is less than it is for an emergency department visit.” However, if your symptoms are serious, it is best to go to the emergency department to get them taken care of. “Things like shortness of breath, chest pain, if you have weakness or numbness in an arm and leg, if you’re worried about a stroke, those kind of things you want to go to the ER and not put off,” said Dr. Calkins.