Med First Primary & Urgent Care - Emerald Isle — Local services in Emerald Isle

I want to preface this by saying that I am always one to write positive reviews because I know folks typically only complain on review sites - this is the first negative review I have ever written.

I brought my boyfriend to the clinic for an infected wisdom tooth - he was in a lot of pain and sick to his stomach because of it. Based on past experience with the same tooth, he was expecting that we would see a doctor to receive antibiotics for the infection and maybe something for the pain.

We arrived before the facility opened at 8am. We were the second in line - the first person had an appointment, and we were the first walk-in. The first thing we did was let them know what we were there for, then filled out the paperwork, and waited...and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. He went to his vehicle because he was getting sick and was miserable. I stayed inside, watching one person after another be taken back while I still sat out front, even though we were the second ones to walk in the door. I was eventually told that those people had appointments and had priority, which frustrated me because we could have left for a non-appointment urgent care.

After the second walk-in to come through the door was called ahead of us after an hour and a half, I asked the receptionist why we still hadn't been called when all these others were being called in front of us and even another walk-in was called before us. I reminded her that was in the in truck getting sick and in a lot of pain, and she said that she didn't have a room for us and that the charts had gotten out of order.

At the two hour mark, a nurse called his name - when I told her that I would go get him, she asked to speak to me. She then told me that they couldn't see him - that we needed to go to a dentist instead. WHY THE HELL COULDN'T THEY TELL US THIS WHEN WE WALKED IN THE DOOR AND SAID WHY WE WERE THERE?!!!

Needless to say, we were LIVID! There certainly needs to be someone filtering folks as they come in - you shouldn't be leaving hurting, sick patients waiting for hours on end for NOTHING. I have been in urgent cares where folks are told up front if their problem isn't one that can be handled there.

Please don't keep making folks suffer. We will continue to detour people from your establishment and send them elsewhere due to...

The reason for my one star review is I never even got the chance to meet the staff of this facility.

I needed to go to an urgent care to get a prescription ASAP (since I believed what I may have had might have been contagious, and I’m around kids and people all the time), considering my primary care provider wouldn’t have been available until later next week. So I called my insurance to see who in my area would be open Saturday, April 20th that excepts my insurance. They got back with me and after them calling this location (which was an answering service, not the actual location, which should have been a red flag for me) and told me they would be open today. I thought great, but unfortunately it would be a 45 minute drive. I needed to go anyway so I took the time out of my morning to drive 45 minutes to this location and showed up at 7:50am. No cars were in the parking lot, so I figured I was early. I sat in my car until 8:00am and noticed another car pulled up. So I got out of my car and started to walk up to the door and noticed it was locked. Their hours did say they were open from 8am-2pm (which was weird since their answering service said 8am-3pm... another red flag). I waited around giving these people the benefit of the doubt that maybe they were running late. When 8:15am rolled around I called another location in New Bern (which is the same company as the one located in Emerald Isle) and luckily they were open. I asked them by any chance is their location in Emerald Isle open today? They sat there, and told me, it looks like no provider was on the schedule for April 20th. Their wasn’t a sign on their door saying they would be closed. All of us who were waiting even told each other if they were closed they would have put a sign on their door, right? First time ever witnessing an urgent care being so inconsiderate of their patrons. Luckily for me the location in New Bern, NC was definitely worth the 45 minute drive to Emerald Isle, and the other 50 minute drive to their location. If you’re ever wondering the hours of operation for this location, don’t even bother calling. Save your gas money and call your insurance to find...

I went to this clinic with a severe ear infection. There appeared to be a substantial wait when I showed up. I waited 30 minutes, and then was asked to sit outside the building during their lunch break. Despite the lack of logic in making a sick person sit on the curb so that the entire office could take a break, I complied. I thought this would be the worst of it. I was wrong.

Upon being allowed back into the waiting room, I soon realized that somehow the wait time had substantially increased. I waited for 2 hours, the pain in my ear being more and more unbearable. When they called my name, I was so relieved! I was ushered into a prison-cell like exam room, the only available reading material being a sign telling me not to use my cell phone. Another 2 hours later, I was seriously at my wits end. I stuck my head out of the door several times during this time, to be told that the doctor would see me soon enough.

When the doctor did show up, he examined my ear, confirmed it was infected, and then had me lay down on the table. He put ice cold ear drops into my ear, and then left me there for about a half hour. It was like Chinese water torture. I couldn't take it anymore, so I sat up, and the drops spilled out all over my shirt, just in time for an irate nurse to come in and scold me. She then offered to lavage my ear.

The lavage was relieving pretty much only because I was finally being treated. She asked me if I could hear, and I said that it still felt pretty blocked, and that I was more than happy to continue with the procedure. Instead, she left. 15 minutes later the doctor returned to ask if everything was okay, because the nurse had said that I told her to stop because it was too painful. I corrected him, he continued the lavage, and sent me on my way.

I don't have insurance, so of course this torturous ordeal cost me several hundred dollars. I don't know why having hydrogen peroxide squirted into my ear is so expensive, but doctors know best, right?

Only go to this clinic if you have absolutely no other choice. I once volunteered in a refugee camp in Haiti, and the health care I received there under a tent was better...