Top Dangers Threatening To Take the Happy out of your Holidays

Nothing makes you more of a Grinch during the holidays than a trip to the Emergency Room when you should be home enjoying good food, family and friends. Unfortunately, accidents are very common during the holiday season, for a variety of reasons. Here are the top concerns you should steer clear of if you don’t want to have a Ba Humbug attitude about the holidays this year.

Falls

About 5,800 individuals are treated annually in hospital emergency rooms for injuries sustained from falls involving holiday decorations.  This can include putting lights up on the house or reaching to far on the ladder to get the star on the top of your tree.

In addition, 4,000 people a year are treated in emergency rooms for injuries associated with extension cords.  Half of these injuries involve fractures, lacerations, contusions, or sprains as a result of people tripping over the cords.

Carbon Monoxide poisonings

Carbon Monoxide claims an average of 430 lives in the United States per year. These are preventable deaths. Make sure you install at least one smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm on every level of your home and near bedrooms.

Fires

About 30% of all home fires and 38% of home fire deaths occur during the months of December, January, and February.  The United States Fire Administration (USFA) says these fires happen for a variety of reasons cooking, heating, and open flames, all which increase during the holidays. Watch all fires and do not cook or handle an open flame if you have been drinking in excess.

Decorations

With all their shine and glitter holiday decorations are especially tempting to infants, who can quickly choke on items like tinsel, small ornaments, tiny pine cones and pieces from nativity scenes. Be sure to keep all such hazards well out of the reach of children; this includes popular holiday food items like nuts and hard candies, too.

Mistletoe
Poinsettias are often regarded as the most poisonous holiday plant, but contrary to popular belief these plants are actually not toxic to people. Mistletoe, on the other hand, is poisonous. Eating any part of the mistletoe plant, but particularly the berries and leaves, can lead to gastrointestinal upset, while some varieties contain toxins that can lead to blurred vision, blood pressure changes and even death. 

  

Toxic Candles, Sprays and Lights

Do you ever stop to consider what is in the smoke that burns from your candles? They can release hundreds of chemicals, including cancer-causing benzene, into your home's air every time you burn them. This is particularly true of scented candles, as the fragrance oils often contain phthalates, which have been linked to numerous hormonal disruptions, breast cancer, early or delayed puberty and more. Spray on snow is also hazardous as it contains acetone and methylene chloride (a probable carcinogen).

According to a U.S. Environmental group’s study four out of five holiday lights tested contain lead, 28 percent of which contained lead at such high levels they would be illegal to sell in Europe. 

Give yourself a gift this holiday season. Beware of the hazards that threaten to rob you of the joy and relaxation you deserve. An ounce of prevention is worth a lot more than what Santa might bring you.

10 Things You Didn't Know About the UR

There is more than what meets the eye when you come to The Urgency Room. We thought we would create a post for the things you might not know about the UR!

1. Our radiology technicians come from St. Paul Radiology. The wonderful people at the UR take your x-rays and ultrasounds are actually employees of St. Paul Radiology. We who were so impressed with their skills that we wanted to collaborate!

2. Every UR has a candy drawer. The UR and it's employees contribute to the candy drawer to keep it well stocked. When that occasional chocolate craving hits, we are ready!

3. The average patient visit is 90 minutes or less. No matter how serious this injury or illness the UR averages a 90 minute or less from door to discharge. We think that is pretty impressive!
                                            

4. Our staff shares meals on holidays. Even when our employees are working to take care of patients on the holidays, they still get to enjoy a holiday meal with their UR family.

5. We have access to local clinics medical records. With your permission, we can access your electronic medical records from your primary care provider. In addition, your records can then be electronically sent from the UR to your regular doctor for review or follow up care.

6. We have COWs at the UR. Well maybe not actual cows, but we have Computers On Wheels. We have scribes at the UR who go room to room with a doctor and document the visit. The scribes use COWs to make the documentation process more efficient for the patient and provider.
                                                              

7. Woodbury is the only one of our three locations that was created from an existing building and was once a video rental store. After gutting out the building we were able to turn the old video store into a state of the art medical facility. We bet the original builders would have never imagined it was going to become a free standing emergency room!

8. Between the three URs, we go through almost 450 bottles of water per month. The URs have a drink fridge at each location for our ill patients. Though we stock juice, sports drinks and lemon lime soda, water is the number one beverage we go through.

9. The UR has its own YouTube Channel!  You can find our board-certified emergency physicians on YouTube providing educational information on some of the most common things we see at the UR.  Some of our videos have almost 100,000 views!

10. The physicians, PAs and NPs that staff our Urgency Rooms also work in the ERs of 5 of our main Twin Cities hospitals.  You could see your doctor at the UR or working in the ER of Mercy, Unity, Southdale, Ridges and Methodist hospitals.  Needless to say you are in very capable hands during your visit to the UR. We only hire the best and the brightest!

Immediate Medical Care In Winter Weather

The Urgency Room is the place to go for immediate medical care—whether you’ve got a seasonal sickness or you are injured while shoveling snow or slipping on ice. Our doors are open 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day—even on holidays. And we are conveniently located in Eagan, Woodbury, and Vadnais Heights.
For the sudden holiday illness or the unexpected winter accident requiring  immediate medical care, The Urgency Room can get you in and home in no time. With board-certified emergency physicians leading a professional medical staff, we provide expert patient care without the long waits of a hospital ER. We also provide on-site laboratory work, x-ray, CT, and ultrasound imaging that you can’t get at a traditional urgent care center.
Winter weather is tough when you’re suffering from a physical injury or a debilitating cold or flu, but we can help you get back on your feet. Check out our website to see current wait times at each location and to learn more about the immediate medical care our expert emergency doctors and staff offer at UrgencyRoom.com.

Unique Emergency Care

When you or a loved one needs urgent care near St. Paul, it’s important to act fast. With 3 locations in the East Twin Cities area, it’s easy to find us:

Eagan

• 12 private treatment rooms, 2 procedure rooms, 2 observation rooms, 2 consult rooms
• Address: 3010 Denmark Ave, Eagan, MN, 55121
• Phone: 651-789-9900

Vadnais Heights

• 13 private treatment rooms, 2 procedure rooms, 2 consult rooms, 2 observation rooms
• Address: 1159 East County Rd E, Vadnais Heights, MN, 55110
• Phone: 651-789-6500

Woodbury

• 10 private treatment rooms, 2 procedure rooms, 2 consult rooms
• Address: 7030 Valley Creek Plaza, Woodbury, MN 55125
• Phone: (651) 789-7000

All 3 locations are open 365 days a year, including holidays, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Each location contains a full complement of laboratory equipment so we can serve our patients faster and better. Most importantly, our board-certified emergency physicians and highly experienced team of ER nurses and paramedics are standing by to help our patients with any health concern.

Find the Urgency Room location nearest you on our website, where you can also see our wait time. You’ll be seen in just minutes instead of hours, and diagnosed quickly with our robust diagnostic capabilities that traditional urgent care centers just can’t match. For urgent care near St. Paul, visit www.urgencyroom.com today.

A Fully Equipped Walk-In Medical Clinic

When you need emergency medical care, a traditional urgent care center can provide quick service to its patients, but offers a limited number of procedures. Hospitals feature more robust treatment options, including around-the-clock care, diagnostic laboratory equipment, and a fully qualified staff of medical professionals. But hospitals are busy and getting treatment—or even seeing a physician—can be a long, stressful process.

The Urgency Room offers a new model for emergency care. We’re a fully equipped walk-in medical clinic that combines the speed of an urgent care center with the capabilities of a hospital ER. Our state-of-the-art medical facility has x-ray equipment, ultrasound, CT scanning, and other technology to help us diagnose and treat patients quickly. This level of diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing is not available at traditional urgent care centers.

The experienced ER doctors at The Urgency Room are trained to treat patients with a broad range of ailments including broken bones, lacerations requiring stitches, chest and abdominal pain, kidney stones, concussions, asthma attacks and much more.

And unlike most hospital emergency rooms, the average wait time at The Urgency Room is less than 90 minutes.

If you’re looking for a fully equipped walk-in medical clinic where you and your family can get fast emergency care, find The Urgency Room location nearest to your home and visit us today.

Career Opportunities with The Urgency Room

Are you dedicated to delivering emergency medical services and helping make a difference in the lives of others? Then a career with The Urgency Room could be right for you! We feature career opportunities on our website as they become available.

The Urgency Room is owned and operated by Emergency Physicians Professional Association (EPPA). This organization of highly-skilled emergency physicians has over 40 years of experience, working within many hospital emergency departments in the Twin Cities area. In 2010, this group of physicians opened The Urgency Room; a new concept in medical care providing exceptional emergency medicine in an out-of-hospital environment. 

At The Urgency Room, our number one goal is to offer exceptional emergency care to our patients without any of the hassles generally associated with traditional emergency rooms. We take pride in meeting and exceeding the expectations of our patients. This includes the delivery of medical care provided, as well as the overall experience the patient has during their visit. The Urgency Room is looking for only the best candidates who seek to become part of our clinical team, as well as our guest services department.

We value our team members for their contributions to providing the best outcomes for all of our patients. If you’re interested in becoming part of The Urgency Room team, check to see if there are career opportunities available for you.

Emergency Care When You Need It

At The Urgency Room, you will always find a board-certified emergency physician and emergency trained staff on duty. Always. You can visit any of our three locations - Eagan, Woodbury or Vadnais Heights - on any day and there will be a skilled emergency physician on site to provide the emergency care you need. In addition, all of our experienced physician assistants, nurses, paramedics and technicians have received extensive training and will provide you with high-quality medical care.

The doctors and clinicians of The Urgency Room are experienced in diagnosing and treating a wide range of injuries and illnesses to all age groups including adults, children and infants. From high fever to broken bones or head injuries to heart rhythm disturbances, The Urgency Room is dedicated to providing you with exceptional medical care, in a timely manner. Because many of our doctors are the same physicians you would see in many of the local hospital emergency rooms, you’ll receive the same great medical care, while avoiding long wait times and other hospital ER hassles.

When you or a loved one need fast, exceptional emergency care, turn to the qualified physicians and staff of The Urgency Room. Time is a factor when it comes to medical assistance; don’t get caught up in waiting games when your well-being is in question. The Urgency Room is here to provide you exceptional, emergency care, 365 days a year!