INDIANAPOLIS — From holiday injuries to cold and flu, urgent cares and emergency rooms start to see an uptick in patients this time of year.
“It’s definitely our Super Bowl time of year,” said Katie Tivey, a physician's assistant with WellNow Urgent Care.
“It can sometimes be 25–30% busier,” said Dr. Blake Christy, a physician with Franciscan Express Care, adding that wait times can stretch longer than many expect. “It can be two to three hours waits.”
Much of that demand is tied to seasonal illness.
“Flu, COVID, parainfluenza, RSV, metapneumovirus,” Christy said. “A lot of these communicable illnesses and they just spread like wildfire as we’re all indoors.”
Christy said patient numbers had been relatively slow—until this week.
“We’re starting to see those numbers increase both regionally and nationally,” he said.
On top of illness, clinicians are also seeing a spike in holiday-related injuries.
“Everyone’s cooking more,” Christy said. “A lot of knife injuries, a lot of mandolin injuries. So I always tell people use the guard.”
There are also mishaps tied to holiday decorating or even attempts to stage elaborate Elf on the Shelf scenes.
“People like to have them flying from the ceiling or climbing up the Christmas tree, and it takes one wrong move and boom,” Tivey said. “You’re on the ground or boom, you twisted your ankle, or you landed on your shoulder.”
Patients seeking care, whether for illness or injury, can cut down on their wait by checking in online or seeing if they qualify for a virtual visit.
“We can offload that wait time, and if you are waiting, you’re waiting from home,” said Christy.
