DiLorenzo Pentagon Health Clinic Acute Care

If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911 or immediately go to the nearest emergency department

Who Needs Acute Care?

Patients showing symptoms to include

• Obvious trauma
• Dizziness/Lightheadedness/Visual disturbances
• Chest pain
• Sudden weakness on one side
• Work-related injuries
• Severe allergic reactions
• Respiratory distress
• Suicidal/Homicidal ideation
• Severe pain/Uncontrolled bleeding
• Severe headaches
• Nausea/Vomiting/Diarrhea/Fever

How long will I have to wait?

• Wait times will fluctuate according to your acuity and the acuity of other patients waiting to be seen. The triage nurse will do an initial screening before seeing the patients with the highest acuity first.
• Patients with the highest acuity are seen first, while those with a lower acuity may experience a wait.
• Once you have been evaluated by the nurse, you will be seen by the provider on call. If the provider feels you need to be transported to a facility with more capabilities the team will activate that process.
• Based on your acuity, you may be transported by:
  • Emergency Services to the closest Emergency Room.
  • Civilian Ambulance Services to a local MTF (ATAMMC or WRNMMC).
  • Self-transport with a friend or coworker.

Who do I follow-up with?

The Acute Care physician is not a Primary care provider therefore after being seen in Acute Care all follow-up care should be made with your Primary Care physician. If you do not know who that provider is, feel free to ask one of the technicians at the front desk.

Urgent Care

Urgent Care services treat non-life-threatening health issues that require immediate attention, such as sprains, the flu, colds, back pain, skin rashes and other common illnesses.

If you’re unsure about whether you need urgent care, contact the Military Health System Nurse Advice Line to speak to a registered nurse. Visit MHSNurseAdviceLine.com for web chat and video chat, or dial 1-800-TRICARE (874-2273).

Emergency Care

If you are experiencing a life-threatening medical situation (including mental health emergencies), call 911 or immediately go to the nearest emergency department. 

Emergency care services treat life-threatening medical issues such as threats to your life, limbs, sight, or safety.

To learn about how TRICARE covers emergency care, visit the TRICARE Emergency Care page.