The Waltham Urgent Care Center has a new name- Newton-Wellesley Urgent Care Center–Waltham. The name change will help to better align the Urgent Care Center with the Newton-Wellesley Hospital name and brand.

"Although we have been open since 2003, many of our patients didn't realize that we were affiliated with Newton-Wellesley Hospital," said Mark Shankman, MD, Medical Director, Newton-Wellesley Urgent Care Center-Waltham. "As soon as our patients understand that we are part of a world class hospital, it reassures them that they are getting the highest quality of care in the right setting." A service of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, the Newton-Wellesley Urgent Care Center is staffed by board certified emergency medicine, family medicine and internal medicine physicians as well as a full complement of emergency trained nurses. The Urgent Care Center provides unscheduled, walk-in treatment for minor illnesses and injuries that require medical attention but are not life threatening including: sore throats, coughs, colds and flu, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, vomiting and diarrhea, scrapes, lacerations and minor burns, earaches, sprains and minor fractures, muscle aches and pains, routine gynecological problems, minor eye injuries, infections or irritation, work-related injuries, and sports, camp and work physicals.. The Center also offers laboratory, X-ray and ultrasound services.

"We use the same electronic medical record utilized throughout Newton-Wellesley Hospital, our physician private practices, and the entire Partners network of hospitals resulting in a patient's medical history being available which saves time and reduces the need for tests to be repeated," added Dr. Shankman. In addition, Newton-Wellesley Urgent Care Center-Waltham is now offering patients the option of online pre-registration. Online pre-registration will alert the medical team that patients are on their way for a visit. Online pre-registration is available for unscheduled, same-day visits and for scheduled appointments. Patients may also pre-register for scheduled procedures such as wound checks and IV antibiotics. Pre-registering for a visit to the Urgent Care Center will help to expedite the encounter by eliminating steps at the time of the patient's arrival. Online pre-registration and information about the process are available by visiting www.nwh.org/ucc-prereg.