Summer is a great time to go on vacation and see exciting new places. While choosing your itinerary and making reservations, don’t forget to locate any urgent care facilities near your destinations, including addresses and phone numbers. A walk-in clinic may not have a gift shop, but if you need medical treatment, it might make the difference between an interrupted journey and a prematurely finished vacation.
Here are the top four reasons to locate urgent care clinics in advance of your travel plans:

1. URGENT CARE CLINICS ARE LOCATED ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES. Nearly three million people in our country utilize urgent care services on a weekly basis, according to the latest estimates of the Urgent Care Association of America. Over 20,000 doctors practice medicine at these locations. Simply use your favorite internet search engine to locate a facility closest to where you are going on your trip. You’ll probably be surprised at the number of choices available.

2. WALK-IN CLINICS PROVIDE THE CONVENIENCE YOU NEED ON VACATION. Your time off is limited. You need to make the most of it. Because you can come in without making an appointment, you can receive medical help faster and with less hassle. Eighty-five percent of urgent care facilities stay open Monday through Sunday, so it doesn’t matter which day of the week you need help. Knowing information about them in advance means even less downtime. Of course, if you want to make an appointment you can do that as well.

3. STUFF CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU’RE AWAY FROM HOME. There’s nothing nicer than enjoying hiking in the great outdoors unless of course, we stumble into an accident. Did you know 25,000 Americans sprain their ankle daily or that no one’s favorite vegetation, Poison Ivy, is in every state of the Continental U.S.? The best-laid plans still have surprises and locating urgent care clinics near your vacation destinations will you help obtain health care service a little more smoothly.

4. URGENT CARE HANDLES A WIDE VARIETY OF MEDICAL ISSUES. Even if you needed minor fracture treatment, 80% of walk-in urgent care centers can handle it for you. In the event you come down with one of the billion (!) annual cases of the common cold, you know that you can also find help at a walk-in clinic for your symptoms.

We want to have the sun shining all the time when we’re traveling, but we need to be prepared for rain. Likewise, we don’t want to anticipate medical emergencies while away, but by locating urgent care near our destinations, we can be ready for the unexpected. Have a great vacation!