Emergency or Urgent Care?
When to Go to an Emergency Department
Call 911 or go to an Emergency Department (ED) if your child has a serious or life-threatening illness or injury, or signs of a mental or behavioral health emergency. See table below to help you figure out where to go for care.
Seattle Children’s ED is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No appointment is needed. Call your child’s doctor to ask about follow-up care after their ED visit.
Signs of a mental or behavioral health emergency include:
- Your child is at immediate risk for harm due to suicidal thoughts or feelings, or requires emergency medical care due to self-harm or a suicide attempt
- Your child is at immediate risk of harming others
- Your child cannot take part in safety planning to avoid self-harm
- Your child has lost the ability to care for themselves or do the basic tasks needed to keep themselves clean or healthy
- You are concerned you cannot keep your child safe until their appointment
When to Go to an Urgent Care
You can go to an urgent care when your child has an illness or injury that is not a medical emergency or life-threatening, and you cannot get into your primary care provider. A referral is not required.
Seattle Children’s currently has 2 urgent care options:
-
Urgent Care
Offers in-person and telehealth (video) Urgent Care visits for certain medical illnesses and injuries. Treats medical needs only; does not treat mental or behavioral health concerns.
- Hours: In-person and virtual urgent care services are available 365 days a year, including holidays. Hours vary by location.
- Locations: In-person clinics in Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way and Seattle. Video visits anywhere in Washington state.
- How to schedule a visit: Click here to schedule a same-day in-person or video visit or call 206-987-2211 for a same-day appointment. Limited walk-in visits available.
- Urgent Care offers X-ray services. We will transfer you to our Emergency Department if your child needs an ultrasound, CT scan or MRI study.
Urgent Care does not provide the following services
Talk with your primary care provider if you need:
- Well-child check-ups
- Return-to-play evaluations after a concussion
- Sports or camp physicals
- Leave of absence (LOA) or Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms
-
Psychiatric Urgent Care
Offers same-day urgent mental health support for children and teens ages 4 through 17 who do not need the services of an emergency department. Learn when to go to Psychiatric Urgent Care and when to go to the ED to treat mental or behavioral health concerns.
- Hours: Daily from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Closed on major holidays.
- Location: In person at Seattle Children’s Magnuson at 6901 Sand Point Way NE in Seattle or by video visit anywhere in Washington state.
- How to schedule a visit:
- Click here to schedule a same-day in-person visit. Limited walk-in visits available.
- Click here to get in the virtual line for a video visit.
Psychiatric Urgent Care does not provide the following services
- Diagnostic evaluations for autism spectrum disorder
- Return-to-school evaluations
- Forms, including forms for court, child protective services or school placement
- Additional documentation beyond what is in the medical record
- Ongoing mental health treatment
- Medical assessments, laboratory tests, physical exams or tests to diagnose medical problems
For help finding a community mental health provider for non-urgent mental and behavioral health needs, contact the Washington Mental Health Referral Service for Children and Teens. It is a free service that connects families with evidence-based mental health treatment in the community.
Where to Go For Care
If you’re not sure where to bring your child, use our guide below.
The symptoms marked with an * can be seen through Virtual Urgent Care.
Call 911 or go to an ED if your child has a serious or life-threatening illness or injury, or signs of a mental or behavioral health emergency.
| ILLNESS/INJURY | WHERE TO GO |
|---|---|
| Allergies | Urgent Care* |
| Asthma attack (minor) | Urgent Care |
| Asthma attack (severe) | Emergency Department |
| Bite (animal, human, insect) | Urgent Care* |
| Bleeding that won’t stop | Emergency Department |
| Breathing difficulty | Emergency Department |
| Broken bone (bent, curved or looks deformed) | Emergency Department |
| Broken bone (not bent) | Urgent Care |
| Burn (minor) | Urgent Care |
| Burn (severe) | Emergency Department |
| Cast problems | Emergency Department |
| Cold symptoms, congestion | Urgent Care* |
| Constipation | Urgent Care* |
| Cough | Urgent Care* |
| Cut (minor) | Urgent Care |
| Cut (severe) | Urgent Care |
| Diarrhea | Urgent Care* |
| Ear pain | Urgent Care |
| Eye infection | Urgent Care* |
| Fever (infants less than 2 months old) | Emergency Department |
| Fever (children over 2 months old) | Urgent Care |
| Headache | Urgent Care |
| Head injury (no loss of consciousness) | Urgent Care* |
| Head injury (with loss of consciousness or from extreme impact) | Emergency Department |
| Injury advice for bones and joints | Urgent Care* |
| Mental or behavioral health concerns | Emergency Department or Psychiatric Urgent Care |
| Migraine headache | Emergency Department |
| Nausea/vomiting | Urgent Care* |
| Poisoning Call Poison Control right away if you suspect a poisoning: 800-222-1222. |
Emergency Department |
| Rash | Urgent Care* |
| Seizure | Emergency Department |
| Shock | Emergency Department |
| Sore throat | Urgent Care* |
| Sprain or strain | Urgent Care |
| Stomach pain (mild) | Urgent Care |
| Stomach pain (severe) | Emergency Department |
| Swallowed object | Emergency Department |
| Ultrasound, CT scans or MRI studies | Emergency Department |
| Urinary complaints | Urgent Care* |
- In English: Your Doctor, Urgent Care or the Emergency Department? (PDF)
- In Simplified Chinese: 您的医生、急诊处或急诊科？ (PDF)
- In Somali: Dhaqtarkaaga, Daryeelka Degdegga ah ama Waaxda Gurmadka Degdegga ah? (PDF)
- In Spanish: ¿Pediatra, Urgencias o el Departamento de Emergencias? (PDF)
- In Vietnamese: Bác sĩ, Dịch vụ Chăm sóc Khẩn cấp hay Khoa Cấp cứu? (PDF)