Valley General Hospital opened a dedicated urgent care wing this week, aimed at diverting non-emergency cases away from the main emergency department and cutting down on wait times that have grown in recent years.
Hospital administrators say the new wing, staffed separately from the ER, is designed to handle cases like minor fractures, infections, and non-severe injuries that don’t require full emergency resources.
“Average ER wait times had crept up to almost three hours,” said chief medical officer Dr. Halima Osman. “This should meaningfully bring that down.” The wing is open daily from 7 AM to 11 PM.