MultiCare Covington Clinic announced it will expand the operating hours of the Urgent Care Clinic to 24-hours a day, seven days a week in the fall.

The clinic is located at Southeast 272nd Street.

“We are working to build a 24-hour emergency department in Covington, but the community wants 24-hour care right now,” Hugh Kodama said, administrator of the MultiCare Covington Clinic. “We’ll help meet that need with an expansion of the hours at the Urgent Care Center. This is the next step in meeting the needs of this community. We know that kids wake up sick in the middle of the night or accidents happen outside of business hours. Now patients can get the help they need around the clock.”

The Urgent Care Clinic treats conditions that are not life threatening such as coughs, rashes and sprains. Patients do not need an appointment.

The MultiCare Urgent Care Clinic is inside the MultiCare Covington Clinic, which offers primary care and specialty physicians, pharmacy services, laboratory tests and imaging. MultiCare has been expanding its services in Covington in recent years to meet the demands of a growing community in South King County. Expanded Urgent Care hours is another level of service for that area.

MultiCare Health System will build a 24-hour emergency department adjacent to the existing MultiCare Covington Clinic. Construction will begin later this year and will be completed in early 2012. MultiCare also has announced plans to build a 58-bed hospital on the site.

When to seek urgent care

If someone becomes ill or is injured and their condition does not pose an immediate, serious threat to their health or life, urgent care is the right choice. Seek urgent care for such conditions as:

• allergies,

• cold or flu symptoms,

• cough or bronchitis,

• earache,

• minor burns or bruises,

• rash, poison ivy, allergic reaction,

• fevers,

• scrapes or minor cuts,

• sore throat,

• sprain,

• minor fracture,

• foreign object in eye or nose,

When to seek emergency care

If you think someone could suffer significant harm or die without prompt attention, seek emergency care – or call 911 – immediately. Emergency care is the right choice for such conditions as:

• severe bleeding,

• chest pain, upper abdominal pain or pressure,

• coughing or vomiting blood,

• difficulty breathing, shortness of breath,

• major burns,

• poisoning,

• sudden dizziness or fainting,

• sudden confusion or difficulty speaking and

• sudden weakness or numbness, especially on one side of the body.