The New Emergency Room

A few weeks ago we were approached by Complete Care because they were interested in becoming a site sponsor of TanglewoodMoms.com. They asked if we could come to their location at the intersection of Camp Bowie and Bryant Irvin for a tour of the facility. So I happily went to meet them to see what they offer and how its different from other urgent care facilities.

That was my big mistake. You see, Complete Care is not an urgent care; it is a true emergency room. I really wasn’t too clear on the difference between an urgent care and a free-standing emergency room, but it was explained to me like this: urgent care clinics help fill a gap when you become sick or injured when your regular doctor is not available, and you can’t wait for an appointment. An emergency room provides medical care at any time, day or night, and is equipped and staffed for even the most complex or critical needs. Makes sense.

We’ve all been to an emergency room, whether for ourselves or our kids. Traditionally, the emergency room is connected to the hospital. That’s just the way it’s always been done, but that doesn’t necessarily mean its better. For instance, ask anyone, and they will tell you the emergency room at the hospital has horrible wait times. You go there, they assess you, and then you sit and wait and wait and wait. Every time we’ve had to take one of our kids to the emergency room, it’s been at least a four-hour ordeal with much of that time spent in the waiting area. At Complete Care, that doesn’t happen. In fact, their average wait time is under TEN MINUTES! You heard me. Ten Minutes. You go in, and by the time you’ve finished filling out the paperwork, they’re calling you back to be seen by a doctor.

What about cost, you ask? Well, at the old emergency room, you produced your insurance card and paid the hideous co-pay or the even worse deductible. Then you paid the physician fees, and the radiology fees, and the lab fees, and then several weeks after your visit you start getting balance billed for the $32 Tylenol and the $68 ankle bandage and the rubber gloves the tech wore when she drew your blood. Again, not at Complete Care. At Complete Care, you can use your insurance, or if you like, you can pay cash or put it on a credit card, but they’re going to cap your costs at $500 regardless or your co-pay or deductible. Now if you need X-Rays or a CAT Scan, you will be billed by the radiologist who interprets the films, or if you need extensive lab work, you may need to pay something there, too. Fortunately, they have a very robust lab in-house and can perform most tests on site.  Name me a hospital that can give you an X-Ray, put you in a cast, and send you on your way in under an hour for less than $500.

Complete Care can treat most, if not all, major and minor emergency conditions just like the emergency room at the hospital. Sometimes a medical emergency will require hospital admittance. Let’s face it, sometimes you just need a hospital. Complete Care can help you there, too. They have established admission privileges with most of the area hospitals. If you need hospitalization after they assess and treat you, they can get you checked into the hospital of your choice and arrange transport for you.  And they’ll do it all in less time for less money than the emergency room that’s actually in the hospital.

Beyond all of those very compelling reasons to use Complete Care is the fact that their facility is clean and quiet and is staffed by friendly medical professionals. In addition to the location I visited, they have many locations across the state including another here in Fort Worth at Oakmont and Chisolm Trail, as well as local locations in Arlington, Pantego, and Southlake. Needless to say, I was more than impressed. The next time my family needs emergency care I know where we are going… and it’s not in the hospital district.

BBW