Urgent Care Awareness Month: One patient's experience shows the value of connected care across HCA Virginia

When Richmond resident William began feeling dizzy and noticed the room spinning, he feared he could be having another stroke.

He also had what felt like an upper respiratory illness, with symptoms like a runny nose, so he went to the HCA Virginia-affiliated CareNow Urgent Care at Hull Street looking for answers.

That decision set in motion a coordinated care journey across HCA Virginia that ultimately led to the discovery and treatment of a serious underlying condition.

At CareNow, providers evaluated his symptoms, treated what appeared to be a respiratory infection and prescribed medication to help with dizziness. But they also recognized that some of what he was describing could indicate something more serious.

Because he was showing possible stroke-like symptoms, the CareNow team urged him to go immediately to Swift Creek ER, one of HCA Virginia’s freestanding emergency rooms, and called ahead so the team there would know he was coming.

At Swift Creek ER, clinicians performed a CT scan and discovered an unexpected and potentially dangerous issue: a tumor on his pituitary gland. From there, he was transferred to Johnston-Willis Hospital for additional testing, including an MRI, and ultimately surgery to remove the tumor.

The tumor was benign, but it was pressing on his optic nerve and had begun affecting his vision. Without treatment, it could have caused more serious complications.

For William, the experience underscored the importance of urgent care not just as a convenient option, but as a critical entry point into the healthcare system.

“They’ve always been very professional, very good and very thorough,” he said of the CareNow team. “They said, ‘We’re not going to take any chances. We think you should go on down to Swift Creek Emergency and let them evaluate you.’”

That recommendation proved vital.

While urgent care did not diagnose the tumor on site, the CareNow team recognized that his symptoms warranted emergency evaluation and helped connect him quickly to the next level of care. Their actions helped move him into a seamless continuum that included urgent care, emergency medicine and hospital-based specialty care — all within HCA Virginia.

Today, William says he is doing well overall following surgery. His blurry vision has improved, and he is continuing follow-up care with specialists HCA Virginia.

His story is an example of the role urgent care centers play in the broader care continuum. Facilities like CareNow offer patients fast, convenient access for everyday illnesses and minor injuries, but just as importantly, they can identify when a patient needs a higher level of care and help accelerate that transition.

During Urgent Care Awareness Month, William’s  experience highlights the value of having connected access points across a health system: care that begins close to home, responds quickly when symptoms may signal something more serious and helps guide patients to the right place at the right time.

In this case, one visit to urgent care did more than address immediate symptoms. It helped uncover a hidden condition, launched timely specialty treatment and demonstrated how coordinated care across HCA Virginia can make a life-changing difference.

HCA Virginia is Virginia’s most comprehensive provider network with 14 hospitals, 27 outpatient centers, 8 freestanding emergency rooms and 13 urgent care centers.

The health system is investing $5 million to open three new urgent care centers in the Richmond market over the next two years, increasing its total in Virginia from 12 to 15 locations to further strengthen access to everyday healthcare needs closer to home.

HCA Healthcare is one of the nation's leading urgent care providers with more than 370 clinics in 11 states and 4.2 million annual patient encounters.