Your Community’s Superhero: Urgent Care!

A conversation with with Dr. Roger Hicks, Dignity Health Medical Group — Sierra Nevada

Roger Hicks, MD is the medical director of Dignity Health Medical Group — Sierra Nevada’s urgent care location at 107 Margaret Lane in Grass Valley. He is on the Board of Directors of the College of Urgent Care Medicine and the founding president of California Urgent Care Association.

What is the role of urgent care in the community? 

Dr. Hicks: Urgent care plays a vital role in the health of a community by providing accessible and timely medical care for a wide range of conditions. We offer a convenient alternative to emergency departments for situations that require immediate attention but are not life or limb threatening. This helps to ease the strain on local emergency rooms, ensuring that people who need emergency room care receive the prompt care they need.

What kind of conditions are right for urgent care? 

Dr. Hicks: Urgent care is for same-day treatment for medical issues that can’t wait, but aren’t life or limb threatening. Some reasons to visit an urgent care include:

Ear and eye infections
UTIs
Factures, sprains, and muscle strains
Cold, flu and other respiratory illness
Allergies and asthma
Cuts and burns
Skin conditions such as rashes and insect bites

Most urgent care centers, including ours, are open extended hours, including evenings and weekends, making it easier to access care when you need it. This means offering same-day service. Patients can simply walk-in to receive care, or register online for an arrival time. Register online at dhmf.org/grassvalley-urgentcare. 

When should someone go to the ER instead of urgent care? 

Dr. Hicks: Call 9-1-1 for life-threatening or severe injuries or illness. Head to your nearest emergency room for any medical issues that need immediate attention including: 

Severe burns
Poisoning
Severe bleeding
Seizures
Heart attack symptoms 

What role do advanced practice providers play on the urgent care team? 

Dr. Hicks: The title “advanced practice provider” (APP) refers to medical professionals in advanced roles who have completed graduate degrees and many hours of supervised clinical training. 

APP roles include physician assistants and nurse practitioners who provide vital care to patients in an urgent care setting. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners can diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and play an important role on the urgent care team. .

What is one thing you wish everyone knew about urgent care?

Dr. Hicks: Urgent care clinics are a valuable community resource. We are here to provide high-quality, affordable care for a wide range of conditions. We can treat patients who are visiting from out of town, or patients who need to be seen right away, but are not able to see their primary care provider, or don’t have a primary care provider.

Unlike your primary care team, we don’t manage chronic disease. In some cases we can help with services that your primary care team also provides. For example, at our clinic we provide immunizations for flu, hepatitis and tetanus, sports physicals and X-rays services.

We can help you get the care you need quickly and efficiently, so you can get back to your life as soon as possible.

About Dignity Health Medical Group — Sierra Nevada Urgent Care

Dignity Health Medical Group — Sierra Nevada urgent care is located at 107 Margaret Lane and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. They offer same-day urgent care services as well as appointments for workers compensation, X-ray imaging, immunization and sports physicals. To schedule an arrival time, please call (530) 576-7141, or visit dhmf.org/grassvalley-urgentcare.