TRI-VALLEY: Urgent Care Center Offers After-Hours Treatment

      Children's Hospital Oakland and ValleyCare Health System are teaming up to launch a new pediatric urgent care center at ValleyCare Medical Center later this month. The Contra Costa Times reports that the new center will open its doors to after-hours patients who usually wind up in the emergency department. "This allows residents of the Tri-Valley to seek medical services for youngsters without having to drive to Oakland or elsewhere," explained ValleyCare spokesperson Kathy Campbell. "I don't think there's a similar children's facility closer than Oakland, and that's why we're excited about it," she added. The urgent care center will keep hours long after pediatricians' offices normally close -- staying open from 6 to 11 p.m. weekdays and 2 to 10 p.m. weekends. The Contra Costa Times reports that the "specialty center" at ValleyCare, a Children's Hospital Oakland operation, is already in position to "provide specialized outpatient care to Tri-Valley patients" and will continue its operations even after the urgent care center opens (Richards, 2/14).