Keeping Patients Safe from Ticks May Keep Them Coming Back to Your Urgent Care Center

It’s the peak of summer vacation season. But for every blissful day out on the lake, sleeping under the stars, or trail biking through the woods there are countless moments of worry over ticks and the diseases they carry. The aptly named Mercy Urgent Care is doing its part to help  tourists and residents in western North Carolina feel safe and remain free of tick-borne illnesses by handing out free tick removal kits (while supplies last). Those kits include tongs for grasping the critters, repellant, and bandages. Patients who receive one also walk away with a clear memory of where they got it, of course—the same place they’re likely to return when the need strikes, whether their problem turns out to be tick-related or not. By encouraging prospective patients to stay safe and helping them to help themselves while they’re enjoying the great outdoors, Mercy is setting the foundation for potentially long-lasting relationships with visitors who could become longtime customers. Consider what the attributes of your environs are—and what risks might be associated with them. Educate residents and visitors on how to avoid them, and how to deal with them, and you’re also helping them learn they can count on you. JUCM published an article not long ago on this very topic. You can read Top 5 Wilderness Medicine Topics for the Urgent Care Provider in our archive.