Urgent Care Offers Option to Hospital Emergency Room

A new urgent care facility has opened its doors near Poway, offering an alternative to a hospital emergency room for non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses.

MDtoday Urgent Care began accepting patients in late September, able to treat all sorts of ailments including cuts requiring stitches, minor fractures and burns, sore throats and infections, sports injuries and more.

Located a short drive from Poway at 10605 Scripps Poway Parkway, the practice is run by Dr. Len Jurkowski and his wife Anne Jurkowski, who is a registered nurse. People choose to go to a small urgent care rather than a big hospital’s emergency room for several reasons, Dr. Jurkowski said.

“It really caters to people who want quick service; don’t have a physician; don’t have insurance because we see them as well; people who want to be seen after hours or on weekends,” he said. “It’s more cost effective and can be a better alternative to going to an emergency room.”

MDtoday accepts most types of insurance, and a standard visit for non-insured patients is $125.

Jurkowski, originally from Canada, is a family physician who has been practicing in the San Diego area since 1995. He has practiced primary care as well as occupational medicine.

With much lower overhead costs and a small staff, minor ailments can be treated at an urgent care cheaper than a big hospital, Jurkowski said. MDtoday has a physician on site at all times, as well as two medical assistants. The facility has x-ray equipment and can treat minor fractures. Patients that come in with minor fractures are immobilized and sent immediately to an orthopedic surgeon.

Emergency rooms are notorious for wait times that can stretch into hours, but urgent cares usually see patients not long after they arrive.

“They do a bit of paperwork, we verify their insurance online, and they’re called back immediately,” Jurkowski said.

MDtoday Urgent Care, 10605 Scripps Poway Parkway, is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Phone number (858) 622-0554, website www.mdtodayurgentcare.com.