Is my question an emergency, urgent or can it wait for the next clinic day?
Emergencies are serious or life-threatening problems such as:
Severe burns, deep cuts, animal bites, or bleeding that won’t stop
Sudden or severe difficulty breathing, abdominal pain or vomiting blood
Sudden weakness, numbness or loss of coordination or balance
New, sudden, severe headaches, blurred vision or seizures
Significant head injuries/concussions or broken bones
Fever, trouble breathing or lethargy in babies under 2 months
Any other condition you believe is life-threatening
Go directly to the nearest Emergency Room if you have an emergency; urgent care or waiting for our office are not safe options. If you aren’t sure if the problem is an emergency, message us in Spruce. Don’t wait for us to reply if the problem is getting worse!
If the problem appears life-threatening, don’t drive. Dial 911 for an ambulance instead.
Urgent problems don’t require the emergency room, but you may feel that you can’t wait for a response if the office is closed or Dr. K is temporarily unavailable.
Use Spruce to send messages that need a response the same day; we don’t routinely check messages in the portal after hours including weekends and Wednesdays. If you have messaged in Spruce and haven’t gotten a response, please message again; technology and notifications aren’t perfect, and when we’re very busy we prioritize. If we are unavailable and you are worried about an injury or illness then it is completely appropriate to go to an urgent care clinic.
If you are not sure whether the problem requires urgent attention try using this Symptom Checker. Minor symptoms (cold symptoms and the first 3 days of fever over 101 in a child over 3 months of age) are usually caused by viruses, and minor injuries usually need only home treatment and comfort care.
Problems that don’t require the emergency room but can’t wait for the next day include:
cuts possibly needing closure
suspected fractures or significant sprains
working harder than usual to breathe but not worsening or severe
Problems that don’t require the emergency room but we can’t see you for 2 days or more include:
persistent or severe ear pain, ear drainage
fevers, sore throats, rashes or coughs
If you feel the problem can be handled by an urgent care when they are closed but can’t wait until the next day, the emergency room may be appropriate.
If you do decide to use urgent care, I advise using the following clinics due to the level of training, experience with children and supervision of their providers. I do not recommend any other urgent or convenient care clinics in Salem for children.
SALEM HEALTH CONVENIENT CARE: SCHEDULE
503-814-5554 1002 Bellevue St SE, Salem, OR 97301
*Appointments required; no babies under 3 months, Weekdays 10am-10pm, weekends 10am-8pm
SALEM CLINIC URGENT CARES (3 LOCATIONS)
*No appointments required, Mon - Fri: 10am – 7pm, Sat & Sun: 10am - 5pm
South: 2531 Boone Road SE, Salem, OR 97306 (SE of Kuebler/Battle Creek Intersection)
(503) 485-8600
Salem Clinic Main: 2020 Capitol St NE, Salem, Oregon 97301 (Near intersections of Capitol, Fairgrounds and Sunnyview)
(503) 364-9888
Urgent Care @ Inland Shores: 5900 Inland Shores Way NE, Keizer, Oregon 97303 (NW of River Road/Lockhaven Intersection)
(503) 589-6255
Questions about things that have been going on for a while, are intermittent or aren’t worsening or changing over the last few days can wait a day or over the weekend. The patient portal is the best place for non-urgent messages (https://patientportal.advancedmd.com/139661/account/logon, where you schedule appointments and do forms) because it's part of your child's medical record. Spruce (our secure messaging app) is best for urgent messages. An urgent message is if you need to make sure we see your message promptly when we are open (eg: you need an answer to a question or an appointment today, or are running late for an appointment) or if you need to reach Dr. K after hours, weekends or holidays. In the patient portal you can schedule appointments, request refills, view records in your child’s chart, and send us messages about appointments, prescriptions, insurance and billing.