By Clayton Warren, Vitals contributor
What do you do when an illness or injury is pressing enough to require a doctor’s care, but it’s an evening or weekend, and the doctor’s office is closed? Fortunately, there’s an option available seven days a week, every day of the year – that could potentially prevent a visit to the emergency room.
Frederick Oh, M.D.
“Our urgent care centers deliver expert, same-day care, close to home and work,” says Dr. Frederick Oh, executive medical director of continuum of care for Sutter Health. “Our facilities are staffed by clinicians who can promptly evaluate and treat non-severe medical conditions.”
Sutter Health has launched a major urgent care expansion effort across its footprint in California to increase access to care and meet the needs of patients close to where they live and work.
For example, Sutter East Bay Urgent Care in Berkeley recently relocated into a larger space. The new space, located in the Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation Care Center at 2500 Milvia Street, doubled patient capacity with 10 exam rooms, enabling the staff members to provide safe, high-quality care while improving the patient experience with shorter wait times in a more comfortable environment.
Loresca Especianise, M.D.
“Sutter East Bay Urgent Care in Berkeley is the busiest among our four urgent care sites in the East Bay and we’re very excited to add this additional clinical space so that we can treat more patients in our community,” says Dr. Oh.
Along with expanding existing urgent care sites, Sutter is investing in new urgent care centers to ease pressure on emergency departments and support better health outcomes.
“Efficiency is critical in urgent care, where every minute can make a meaningful difference in a patient’s experience,” says urgent care manager and registered nurse Jeff Crowder. “Our newly expanded Berkeley location is designed to streamline care delivery — from reduced wait times to improved patient flow — so we can treat more individuals quickly, accurately, and with the high standard of care our community expects.”
Urgent Care in the East Bay
Sutter East Bay Urgent Care team members inside the expanded Berkeley urgent care center.
Sutter East Bay Urgent Care has four locations in Antioch, Orinda, Castro Valley and Berkeley that offer a faster, convenient and economical alternative to going to the emergency room for some non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries. All four Sutter East Bay Urgent Care locations are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sutter urgent care sites also offer onsite laboratory and x-ray services to help doctors diagnose and treat conditions accurately and swiftly.
Urgent care clinicians can treat conditions such as a sore throat, cold and flu, vomiting, diarrhea, cuts and abrasions, sprains and strains, bruises and bumps, asthma, headaches, ear infections, urinary tract infections and back pain.
“Having this expanded space in Berkeley is a true game changer that will help improve patient consumer experience as we collaborate closely with our patients’ primary care and specialty physicians to ensure our patients continue to receive seamless care,” says Dr. Oh. “Our clinical team is very excited and pleased to work in this large, beautiful location.”
Sutter Urgent Care offers expert, same-day care for adults and children on a walk-in basis with no appointment necessary. To find a Sutter Urgent Care near you, please click here.
