Clinics Closed on the Holidays, Where Can We Go If We Get Sick?

First off, we would like to wish everyone Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you spend every day with the ones you love and are grateful for everyone and everything around you!

Thanksgiving is a time where many people have family reunions and are busy preparing food and cutting the turkey. According to a recent survey, urgent care centers are extra busy and treat 15% more patients than usual—treating those who get cuts, burns, sprains, fractures, and food poisoning on Thanksgiving.

It’s a good thing that it doesn’t get to the point where they have to go to the emergency room. Many want to see their family doctor, but of course, many clinics are closed on the holidays… So what do we do! Where can we go?

Worry no more! We have compiled a list of urgent care centers that will be open on Thanksgiving Day in areas of the Chinese community.

Should I go to urgent care?

If you want to go to urgent care, you won’t have to make an appointment and you won’t need a referral. It is convenient in the sense where you won’t need to wait as long as you would in the ER, but you still get the same things done as you would at the doctor’s such as examinations, check-ups, and tests. Patients with minor illnesses are treated way faster when they go to urgent care compared to that of the ER. For differences between urgent care and ER, click here for more information!

Before you leave, remember to confirm with the urgent care center whether or not they take your insurance because not every clinic is within your medical network!

If you encounter these following situations and would like to get treatment, Urgent Care and MinuteClinics are a good choice!

• Cough, cold, flu
• Sore throat, sinus infection
• Cuts, scratches, burns
• Fractures
• Allergies, asthma
• Sprains
• Headaches
• Urinary tract infections
• Eye and ear infections

Which urgent care centers are open on Thanksgiving?

Below are several urgent care centers that are open in the Chinese community. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, some of these urgent care centers are only open until 4-5pm in the afternoon. Remember to call and confirm before going!

For those who are insured under Kaiser Permanente, you won’t have to worry. Kaiser medical centers are practically open all day! Click here to find a Kaiser medical center near you (opens in new tab).

CVS MinuteClinic

If you’ve lived in the U.S. for some time, you must’ve heard of CVS before! CVS Pharmacy is the number one pharmacy in the United States, opening 7,025 retail stores throughout the United States. About 75% of the US population is less than three miles away from a CVS.

Not only do they sell prescription drugs/medication, but they also sell daily necessities. This is so convenient because for those who are shopping, you can also see a doctor without making an appointment.

According to statistics, for minor illnesses such as a cold, only one third of patients in the U.S. can be treated on the same day of visit. Minute clinics are also inexpensive, as they are about half the cost of seeing a doctor or going to Urgent Care. If you have health insurance, most plans will cover the cost of the minute clinics. Remember to confirm with the doctor on duty just in case!

(CVS Minute Clinic Locator (opens in new tab))

Finally, as a last reminder, KCAL would like to remind everyone to stay safe this holiday weekend. Make sure to always carry your health insurance and auto insurance cards with you and to always be aware of the closest medical center nearest you.

Happy Holidays! Stay safe!