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Emergency or Urgent Care?

When to Go to an Emergency Department

Call 911 or go to an Emergency Department (ED) if your child has a serious or life-threatening illness or injury, or signs of a mental or behavioral health emergency. See table below to help you figure out where to go for care.

Seattle Children’s ED is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No appointment is needed. Call your child’s doctor to ask about follow-up care after their ED visit. 

Signs of a mental or behavioral health emergency include:

  • Your child is at immediate risk for harm due to suicidal thoughts or feelings, or requires emergency medical care due to self-harm or a suicide attempt
  • Your child is at immediate risk of harming others
  • Your child cannot take part in safety planning to avoid self-harm
  • Your child has lost the ability to care for themselves or do the basic tasks needed to keep themselves clean or healthy
  • You are concerned you cannot keep your child safe until their appointment

When to Go to an Urgent Care or After-Hours Clinic  

We have several urgent care and after-hours options:

  • Urgent Care

    Offers in-person and telehealth (video) Urgent Care visits for common illnesses and injuries. This includes broken bones (not bent), colds, coughs, diarrhea, earaches, minor asthma attacks, minor cuts and bruises, pink eye, sprains, strains, urinary tract infections, vomiting and more. Urgent Care does not treat mental or behavioral health concerns.

    Urgent Care does not provide the following services

    Talk with your primary care provider if you need:

    • Well-child check-ups
    • Return-to-play evaluations after a concussion
    • Sports or camp physicals
    • Leave of absence (LOA) or Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms
  • Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic

    Offers in-person after-hours visits for common illnesses and injuries. This includes colds, coughs, diarrhea, earaches, minor asthma attacks, minor cuts and bruises, pink eye, sprains, strains, urinary tract infections, vomiting and more. You do not need to be a current Richmond Pediatrics patient to be seen. Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic does not treat mental or behavioral health concerns or broken bones. Imaging services are not available.

    • Hours: In-person services are available every day, except Thanksgiving and Christmas.
    • Location: 23511 56th Ave. W, Suite 105, Mountlake Terrace, WA, 98043
    • How to schedule a visitClick here to schedule a same-day in-person visit or call 206-546-2421 for a same-day appointment.
    • Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic does not offer X-ray or other imaging services. We will recommend your child go to an emergency department if they need an X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan or MRI study.
  • Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care

    Offers in-person visits for children, teens and young adults up to their 21st birthday with urgent orthopedic and sports-related injuries that occurred within the last 48 hours and do not need the services of an emergency department. This includes sprains, strains and broken bones. X-ray, casting and bracing services are available.

    • Seattle Children's Hospital: 4800 Sand Point Way NE in Seattle, Ocean 6 zone
      Hours: Monday through Friday, 5 to 9 p.m. (last walk-in visit is at 8 p.m.) Closed on major holidays.
    • Seattle Children's Bellevue Clinic*: 1500 116th Ave NE in Bellevue
      Hours: Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (last walk-in visit is at 1 p.m.) Closed on major holidays.
      *Seasonal clinic open from August 2 to November 15
    • How to schedule a visit: We accept mostly walk-in visits, with a few scheduled appointments available daily. Schedule a same-day, in-person appointment at Seattle Children’s Hospital campus in Seattle or Bellevue.
    Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care does not care for the following concerns
    • Chronic pain (pain that is ongoing for more than 30 days)
    • Concussion
    • Cuts
    • Nailbed injuries
    • Open wounds near possible bone break
    • Severe broken bones (bent, curved or look deformed)

    We do not provide or at Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care. If needed, we will place an order so you can get the tests done at a Seattle Children’s location after your visit to our clinic.

  • Psychiatric Urgent Care

    Offers same-day urgent mental health support for children and teens ages 4 through 17 who do not need the services of an emergency department. Learn when to go to Psychiatric Urgent Care and when to go to the ED to treat mental or behavioral health concerns.

    Psychiatric Urgent Care does not provide the following services:
    • Diagnostic evaluations for autism spectrum disorder
    • Return-to-school evaluations
    • Forms, including forms for court, child protective services or school placement
    • Additional documentation beyond what is in the medical record
    • Ongoing mental health treatment
    • Medical assessments, laboratory tests, physical exams or tests to diagnose medical problems

    For help finding a community mental health provider for non-urgent mental and behavioral health needs, contact the Washington Mental Health Referral Service for Children and Teens. It is a free service that connects families with evidence-based mental health treatment in the community.

Where to Go For Care

If you’re not sure where to bring your child, use our guide below. 

The symptoms marked with an * can be seen through Virtual Urgent Care.

Call 911 or go to an ED if your child has a serious or life-threatening illness or injury, or signs of a mental or behavioral health emergency.

ILLNESS/INJURY WHERE TO GO
Allergies Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Asthma attack (minor) Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Asthma attack (severe) Emergency Department
Bite (animal, human, insect) Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Bleeding that won’t stop Emergency Department
Breathing difficulty Emergency Department
Broken bone (bent, curved or looks deformed) Emergency Department
Broken bone (not bent) Urgent Care or Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care
Burn (minor) Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Burn (severe) Emergency Department
Cast problems Emergency Department or Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care
Cold symptoms, congestion   Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Constipation Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Cough   Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Cut (minor) Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Cut (severe) Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Diarrhea   Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Ear pain Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Eye infection Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Fever (infants less than 2 months old) Emergency Department
Fever (children over 2 months old) Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Headache   Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Head injury (no loss of consciousness) Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Head injury (with loss of consciousness or from extreme impact) Emergency Department
Injury advice for bones and joints Urgent Care*, Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Mental or behavioral health concerns Emergency Department or Psychiatric Urgent Care
Migraine headache   Emergency Department
Nausea/vomiting Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Poisoning

Call Poison Control right away if you suspect a poisoning: 800-222-1222.
Emergency Department
Rash Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Seizure Emergency Department
Shock Emergency Department
Sore throat Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Sprain or strain Urgent Care or Orthopedic Injury Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Stomach pain (mild) Urgent Care or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic
Stomach pain (severe) Emergency Department
Swallowed object Emergency Department
Ultrasound, CT scans or MRI studies Emergency Department
Urinary complaints Urgent Care* or Richmond Pediatrics After-Hours Clinic