Where Should You Go for Care?
Choosing the right place can save you thousands of dollars and hours of waiting. Let us help you decide.
For emergencies: Call 911 or go to the nearest ER immediately.
Signs of emergency: chest pain, difficulty breathing, stroke symptoms, severe bleeding, overdose, unresponsive person, mental health crisis
Your Care Options
Compare cost, wait time, and when to use each type of care.
Emergency Room
Use for:
- Chest pain or suspected heart attack
- Stroke symptoms (face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech)
- Severe or uncontrolled bleeding
- Broken bones with deformity
- Drug overdose
- Anaphylaxis (severe allergic reaction)
- Breathing emergencies
- Mental health crisis (danger to self/others)
- High fever in infants under 3 months
Riddle Hospital — (484) 227-9400 — Media
Mercy Fitzgerald — (610) 237-4000 — Darby
ChristianaCare — Wilmington, DE
Urgent Care
Use for:
- Sprains and minor fractures
- Minor cuts needing stitches
- UTIs and bladder infections
- Ear infections and sinus infections
- Mild asthma (not severe attack)
- Fever in adults and older children
- Flu and COVID symptoms
- Pink eye
- X-rays for minor injuries
Search "urgent care near me" or call PA 211 (dial 2-1-1) for a referral to a low-cost urgent care center.
Primary Care / FQHC
Use for:
- Annual check-ups and preventive care
- Chronic conditions (diabetes, blood pressure, asthma)
- Prescription refills
- Ongoing mental health care
- Children's well visits and immunizations
- Prenatal and postpartum care
- Non-urgent new concerns
ChesPenn Chester: (610) 872-6131
ChesPenn Upper Darby: (610) 352-6585
Fairmount/Sharon Hill: (610) 278-7381
Telehealth
Use for:
- Cold, flu, and COVID symptoms
- Rashes and minor skin conditions
- Prescription refills (many medications)
- Mental health follow-up visits
- Mild infections
- General health questions
- Chronic disease check-ins
Save Up to $2,500 Per Visit
Choosing urgent care over the ER for a non-emergency can save you $1,200–$2,500 per visit. ChesPenn's sliding-scale clinics may cost as little as $20 for a visit. Add prescription savings for even more.
Quick Reference: Where to Go for Common Conditions
| Condition | Go To | Cost Estimate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sore throat | Telehealth or Urgent Care | $0–$125 | Telehealth can diagnose strep and send prescription to pharmacy |
| Ear infection | Urgent Care or PCP | $20–$150 | Usually needs in-person exam |
| UTI (bladder infection) | Telehealth or Urgent Care | $0–$150 | Telehealth often works; severe UTI symptoms may need in-person |
| Sprain or minor injury | Urgent Care | $125–$300 | Can do X-rays on-site; not an ER-level emergency |
| Minor cut needing stitches | Urgent Care | $125–$300 | Not life-threatening; ER is overkill and much more expensive |
| Fever in adults / older children | Telehealth or Urgent Care | $0–$150 | High fever with severe symptoms: consider ER |
| Fever in infant under 3 months | ER — Go immediately | Varies | Any fever in baby under 3 months is an emergency |
| Broken bone (suspected) | Urgent Care or ER | $125–$1,500+ | Obvious deformity, open fracture, or severe pain: go to ER |
| Chest pain | Call 911 / ER | Varies | Never wait. Could be a heart attack |
| Asthma flare | Telehealth → Urgent Care → ER | $0–$1,500+ | Mild flare: telehealth or UC. Severe/not responding to inhaler: ER |
| Toothache | Dental clinic (ChesPenn) | Sliding scale | ChesPenn offers dental on sliding scale. ER for severe face swelling. |
| Mental health crisis | Call/text 988 or 911 | Free | 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — 24/7 free. Delco Mobile Crisis: (855) 889-7827 |
| Prescription refill | Telehealth or PCP | $0–$50 | Medicaid: free via MCO telehealth. Also see prescription savings |
Can't Afford an ER Bill?
You went to the ER — now you have a large bill. Here's what you can do:
Both Riddle Hospital and Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital offer financial assistance programs for patients up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level. You may qualify to have your bill significantly reduced or eliminated.
- Riddle Hospital: Call (484) 580-1010 and ask about the Main Line Health Financial Assistance Program
- Mercy Fitzgerald: Call (610) 237-4314 and ask about Trinity Health Financial Counseling
Apply before or after your visit. Don't ignore a bill — call and ask. Many hospitals are required by law to offer charity care.
The No Surprises Act (federal law) protects you from unexpected out-of-network bills in emergency situations. If you went to an in-network hospital for an emergency and received care from an out-of-network provider (like an ER doctor or anesthesiologist), you generally cannot be billed more than in-network cost-sharing rates.
If you receive a surprise bill that seems incorrect, call your insurance company and ask them to apply the No Surprises Act protections.
The Pennsylvania Health Law Project (PHLP) provides free legal help for low-income patients with medical billing problems, Medicaid denials, and insurance disputes. Call them at 1-800-274-3258 — Monday–Friday during business hours.
All hospitals are generally willing to set up payment plans for uninsured or underinsured patients. Call the billing department and ask. Many will accept as little as $25/month. Some hospitals also have interest-free financing. Never ignore a hospital bill — it will go to collections. Call and work out a plan.