Tully Health Center: FIXING YOU UP!

Shout out to the Tully Health Center for being a mix between an emergency room affiliated with Stamford Hospital (that's what its Immediate Care Center is) and a nice walk-in clinic (that’s what it feels like- but with the benefit of taking most insurance).

THC, thank you for making my day better. (Husband, thank you for driving me there and doing all of the logical things- phone calls, thinking, decision-making- to determine that I should go to THC).

Yesterday I ran my foot/toe into a wall. I couldn't walk on it, and I was freaking because I'm going to South America tomorrow for two weeks. Picture lots of crying, self-blame, and hysteria; this trip is my honeymoon. I needed an x-ray so I could stop worrying- I had to know if I was fine, and that I didn't just ruin my own honeymoon, or if I would be crutching it around Rio de Janiero with a funky boot on. My regular doc said it would be faster to go to an emergency room. I didn't know if I should go to Greenwich (super-nice) or Stamford (probably not as nice), so I looked online at both places.

I called G'wich and they sounded pretty friendly: "Yup, you can go to either Greenwich or Stamford- which ever one you want." Well shoot, why doesn't everyone just go to Greenwich? They have that nice piano in the lobby. Then I felt elitist and superficial, so I called the Stamford Hospital Emergency Dept. A brash New-Yorky lady answered; she sounded busy, and I heard lots of noise behind her. I immediately felt like a poser with my sore toe.

"Ah, um, I think I need a foot x-ray, but uh, I'm not sure if- ah, I saw online something about 11 am to 11 pm, something about Fast Track-"
"Oh yeah, Fast Track, that’s at Tully. Hold on." A disinterested girl answered (not a good sign), and I said, "I saw something online about fast track-"
"Oh, Fast Track?" she interrupted. "Hold on." She transferred me lightning-quick, and a chipper woman answered.

Me: "So, um, I think I need a foot x-ray, and I was wondering, um- should I go to Greenwich? I've been there before- or- should I come to you guys?"
The chipper woman giggled and said, "Well, we of course think you should come here! If you come now, it's not very busy."
“Do you have x-rays?”
“Oh yes. We have everything! We’re like a walk-in, but we’re part of Stamford Hospital.” Friendly people and x-rays? I’m in!

We went, and it was great. Nice doctors, nice nurses, nice check-in lady- they let me drink my Dunkin Donuts in there! I thought it would be like a library- no food or drinks!- but they were very relaxed. They were discussing cookies when I left, yet I got great medical care. The whole experience was way better than the G’wich e-room would have been.

Why go to a scary emergency room when you can go to Fast Track at Tully? Fast Track is what they call the Immediate Care Center, where you go if you're only a little sick or hurt. You know, your ears hurt after a bad cold, or your ankle is killing you. Those things are problematic but not incapacitating, but your regular doctor can’t see you for three days, while in the meantime, you have an ear infection or a hairline fracture. Stamford Hospital fixes that with their dual system. Thank you for giving us a walk-in where we don't get totally screwed. (Knock on wood, haven’t seen the bill yet.)

Good news, it's only a little bone chip, and I should walk more easily soon. Elevation, Ibuprofin, etc.

I hope you can learn from my bumbling and avoid the e-room if Tully's ICC is an option for you. Tully is the nice-looking building on Strawberry Hill and Fifth. I thought it was just a light-weight physical therapy place, because I knew it had a gym where you can go for free if your doctor says so. That's essential for people who need to exercise but are either poor, unmotivated, or find real gyms intimidating. So, I knew the place had something cool going on, but now I know it is part of the hospital and probably has other good things besides the ICC and that gym. (However, I hope not to need those things, whatever they are.)