Emergencies and Urgent Care

 

Urgent care or emergency?

Urgent care is medical care you need within 24 hours that might not be for an emergency.

Emergency care is medical care you need right away for a serious, sudden (sometimes life-threatening) injury or illness. An emergency injury or illness could cause your whole body or parts of your body to stop working or to not work correctly. If you have an emergency, call 911 or go to the emergency room.

 
 
 

Examples of when you may need to go to an urgent care location or the emergency room:

If you aren’t sure where you should go to get care, call your primary care provider’s (PCP) office or Enrollee Services at 1-844-214-2470 (TTY 711).

Urgent care

  • Allergies and sinus problems
  • Cold or flu
  • Diarrhea
  • Earache
  • Fever
  • Minor cuts
  • Pink eye
  • Rashes
  • Sore throat
  • Stomachache
  • Upper respiratory infection
  • Urinary tract infection
  • Vomiting

Emergency care

  • Broken bones
  • Chest pain
  • Drug overdose
  • Loss of speech
  • Poisoning
  • Severe burns
  • Severe dizziness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Stroke
  • Uncontrolled bleeding

Enrollees may visit any Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in DC.

 Some FQHCs provide urgent care services or same day appointments. The availability of these services varies by FQHC and location, so it's always best to call ahead.  Here is a list of FQHCs with contact information (PDF)..

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