UI Sports Medicine, urgent care clinics provide easy access in Cedar Rapids
Orthopedic injuries and complaints – those involving the bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves, or tendons – make up an average of 15-20% of all primary care, urgent care, and emergency medicine visits. That number can be even higher for children, with doctors reporting musculoskeletal injuries and complaints making up around 40% of all pediatric visits, says Ashlee Enzinger, MD, FAAP, CAQSM, a doctor in University of Iowa Sports Medicine Clinic–Cedar Rapids, IA.
It's one reason she says she’s grateful her sports medicine clinic shares space with UI Urgent Care–Cedar Rapids.
“This shows a huge need for having musculoskeletal specialists located on site and sharing workspaces with emergency rooms or urgent cares, since they are the ones initially receiving these patients,” Enzinger says. “Because of the proximity of our sports medicine clinic with UI Urgent Care–Cedar Rapids, we can often see patients more quickly, giving them better access to care. This allows us to provide real-time recommendations for care until we can facilitate getting them to another UI Health Care orthopedic specialist or surgeon for further care.”
Hope Breitbach knows firsthand the importance of having collaborative medical care in one convenient location.
When her 3-year-old son Eli injured his leg at home in November 2022, Breitbach knew he needed immediate attention but didn't think it required an emergency room visit. She booked an appointment online through MyChart at UI Health Care Urgent Care–Cedar Rapids.
An X-ray of Eli’s leg showed it was broken. Bri Benjamin, a nurse practitioner at the urgent care clinic, spoke with Hope, outlined all of their options, and they were able to go to Sports Medicine to have a short cast placed. A little later that day, Enzinger was able to see them and replace Eli’s cast with a longer one that was more comfortable for the toddler.
“I am so grateful for that clinic being able to squeeze us in and get a cast on,” Hope says. “They were able to stabilize the leg and make my son so much more comfortable.”
Enzinger says having the sports medicine clinic located alongside urgent care makes treatment for many injuries more accessible, regardless of how the injury occurred.
“Sports medicine can help people of all ages, activity level, and ability get back to their daily life after a wide range of musculoskeletal injuries—it’s not just for athletes,” Enzinger says. “For some, that may mean healing a leg so they can get back to being a toddler again and playing with mom and dad. For others it might mean helping them get back to a sport or recreational activity.”
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