Editor’s note: Richard Hill is a new contributing columnist to the Redmond Reporter. Politically, Hill is an Independent and will comment on a variety of local and regional issues. His column, “Dick’s Pickins” will appear twice a month and will be humorous and sarcastic at times, along with being informative and opinionated. A trained writer, Hill writes a blog called, “Old Dick’s Grumps for the Day.”

If you live or work in Redmond you must be impressed by the relative youth and vitality of its population.

Drive or stroll through the Microsoft campus, or Redmond Town Center, or Marymoor Park and behold the energy and activity. It’s a healthy, active, good lifestyle place to live.

Then why are we being – is “overrun” the right word? – with  new emergency and urgent care health facilities? Is that youth and vitality a façade? Are we really a bunch of old codgers (like me) in disguise, just a slip or a heartbeat away from need for intensive care?

Just recently Overlake Hospital opened an urgent care facility on Redmond Way. A little more than a year ago Swedish Hospital opened a free-standing emergency room (ER) on Union Hill, and last March Evergreen countered with its own new free-standing emergency room in Bella Bottega. Evergreen also consolidated its urgent care and primary care offices in Redmond in the same building.

Happily these new operations are not appearing in response to the deteriorating health of Redmond’s population. They are part of a national trend, now about a decade old, that was started initially to provide quality medical care to underserved rural populations. The first free-standing emergency room in Washington opened in 2006. There are now seven.

Urgent care facilities have been around for much longer, and have a different purpose than ERs. It is very important for medical services consumers – you and me – to understand the difference, and to make appropriate use of each.

The ER is equipped and staffed to deal with life-threatening emergencies, stuff like major traumas, heart attacks, strokes and the like. In many of these situations, time is truly of the essence and having an ER close by can save lives that might otherwise be lost. A free-standing ER associated with a full-service hospital can stabilize a patient and get them to the care that they need post-haste.

The urgent care facility, on the other hand, is a place for dealing with the non-life-threatening things that plague us a lot of the time; the cut that needs a couple of stitches, the sprained ankle that needs wrapping and ice, the poison oak rash, sniffles, upset stomach, and on and on.

Because these things normally can be dealt with at more leisure, urgent care offices usually are open days and evenings, and may be closed on Sundays.

You and I, as medical consumers, need to be aware of these differences, and to make appropriate use of these facilities.

Why not just go to the closest place when you have a boo-boo? The quick answer is cost – ERs are splendid medical palaces and dispense superb care, but it comes at a price. Even if you say you don’t care, because it is covered by insurance, you need to care. Sooner or later that cost will catch up to you in the form of increased premiums or copays. Use the urgent care office unless you do in fact have one of those really serious things to deal with. Sit down with your doctor and ask him or her to educate you on how to tell when you or someone you care for needs the ER.

So the good news is that Redmond continues to be home to a healthy, vital population, and the even better news is that if and when help is ever needed it is even closer at hand.

Richard Hill has lived in Redmond for the last six years and writes a blog, “Old Dick’s Grumps for the Day.” To read his blog, go to www.olddick.blogspot.com.