Emergency and urgent care map

This is the page to read on a quiet Sunday so you don’t have to read it at 2 a.m. It sorts the metro’s emergency and urgent care by area and by severity, with the directory’s listings linked and the rule for choosing between them. It is not medical advice; for a life-threatening emergency, call 911 and stop reading. Facts about each facility come from its listing or site; the health systems’ own locators have the full maps.

ER or urgent care?

The ER for chest pain, stroke signs (face drooping, arm weakness, slurred speech), difficulty breathing, severe bleeding, a broken bone through the skin, a head injury with confusion, a seizure, a severe allergic reaction, or a child who is limp or can’t be woken. Urgent care for the thing that can’t wait until the doctor’s office opens but isn’t an emergency: cuts that need stitches, sprains, fevers, ear infections, flu, UTIs, minor burns, X-rays. The primary care office, or a direct-primary-care practice with same-day access (the doctor guide lists them), for everything else. Our read: when you’re unsure, the ER; the cost of a wrong guess is asymmetric.

Hospitals and ERs, by area

Center city and south: Atrium Health’s flagship campus in Dilworth and Novant Health Presbyterian in Elizabeth are the two main Uptown-adjacent hospitals, both with Level I trauma-class care; neither is in the directory yet, and both systems’ sites list every ER. East: Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center, comprehensive hospital care from middle-of-the-night emergencies through surgery and recovery, per its site; Atrium Health Union West in Matthews, 40 beds with 24/7 emergency services. Southeast: Atrium Health Union in Monroe, 182 beds, 24-hour emergency care; Atrium Health Waxhaw‘s freestanding ER. North: Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital in Mooresville, serving the lake since 1926; Iredell Health’s Mooresville campus with 24-hour urgent care; Novant Huntersville and Atrium’s Lake Norman-area facilities per their sites. West: CaroMont Health, Gaston County’s not-for-profit system with emergency and urgent care. Northeast: Atrium Health Cabarrus in Concord, the system’s regional hospital, per Atrium’s site. South Carolina: Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill and its Fort Mill campus, per the system’s site.

Urgent care, by town

AFC Urgent Care Huntersville, off I-77 and Gilead Road on Boren Street, seven days, no appointment. AFC Urgent Care Waxhaw, walk-in with lab testing and physicals. AFC Urgent Care Gastonia on East Franklin Boulevard, seven days with extended hours. Iredell at Mooresville, 24-hour urgent care on Bluefield Road. The two big systems run urgent cares in nearly every town under their own names; the ones that aren’t in the directory are on their sites. Kintegra Health connects communities to affordable care. Same-day primary care: Clarity Health DPC, New South Family Medicine, Avance Care Midtown.

Dental and eye emergencies

Huntersville Modern Dentistry, Highland Creek Modern Dentistry (same-day emergencies) and Mooresville Modern Dentistry list emergency dental care; Pleasant Plains Dental has Saturday hours. For an eye injury, the ER; for a sudden vision change, Graystone Eye and Cabarrus Eye Center take urgent calls.

The animal ER

Livewell Animal Urgent Care of South End provides emergency and urgent veterinary care. Concord Parkway Animal Hospital does daytime urgent care by appointment. Farmington Village and Coddle Creek list urgent and emergency care. The 24-hour animal ERs aren’t in the directory yet; the dog owner guide flags the gap. For a wild animal, Carolina Waterfowl Rescue or the raptor center.

Crisis lines and the other emergencies

988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in both states. Turning Point in Monroe is Union County’s resource for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, since 1985. Keystone Behavioral Health handles substance use crises across the South Carolina line. Crisis Assistance Ministry prevents evictions and shutoffs. For the house: Superior Plumbing and Plumber Today run 24/7 plumbing; Restoration 1, Sunshine Restoration and the SERVPRO franchises do 24/7 water and fire; Freedom Wildlife Experts for the raccoon.

Getting there

The ER trip is a car trip in most of the metro, and the closest hospital by miles isn’t always the closest by minutes at 5 p.m.; the transit guide‘s map of the highways applies. Uptown’s two hospitals are on the Gold Line streetcar and a short ride from the Blue Line for anyone without a car. For non-emergency transport to appointments and discharges, GTB Medical Transportation and Forget Me Not Homecare‘s Beyond the Ride service. After the hospital, Mecklenburg Health and Rehabilitation and Plaza Health and Rehab do short-term rehab, and Assist M.E. provides free mobility equipment for the trip home.

Mental health and substance use

A mental health crisis is an emergency, and 988 connects to a counselor in both states; the health systems run behavioral health emergency services at their main campuses. For a substance-use crisis, Keystone in South Carolina and the county’s mobile crisis teams on the North Carolina side. The doctor guide lists the counseling practices for the follow-up, and the volunteer guide lists the recovery organizations.

The numbers to save today

911. 988. Poison Control, 1-800-222-1222. Your primary care office’s after-hours line. The nearest ER’s address, typed into the phone’s maps as a favorite. The nearest urgent care. The pediatrician’s nurse line. The vet’s emergency referral. The insurance card, photographed. And the health system’s app, which shows ER wait times and lets you check in to urgent care from the car. The doctor guide and the setup checklist assume you’ve done this on a quiet Sunday. Know a facility we’ve missed? Tell us; the directory’s hospital section is the one we most want complete.