KUSA - As more freestanding ERs are beginning to open around the state, emergency medical care is becoming more accessible and more confusing.
Freestanding ERs are generally affiliated with a hospital, but not attached to one.
These facilities can look a lot like a traditional urgent care but generally cost a lot more. They charge hospital emergency room prices, because they are able to provide more services than urgent care.
Because of this, it's important to distinguish between the two.
The map below shows where both are located in your neighborhood. The yellow crosses represent urgent care locations and the purple ambulances represent freestanding ERs.
This way the next time you are in need off-hours care, you know where you are heading and aren't stuck with a surprise bill.
If you aren't sure which type of facility you need, the graphic below may help:
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