Your Second Home -- What Do You Do if You Get Sick?

As my daughter limped towards the car, my first thought was a very un-Mommy like one: Does this mean we're not going to be able to go to the cabin for the weekend? 

I listened to her war story. She and the defender had gotten to the ball at the same time. Both gave their best kicks; the defender's landed on the ball, my daughter's, on the defender's foot. According to the school nurse, she had jammed her big toe. It would be sore for a few days, but with R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation), she should be back on the soccer field in time for the next game. 

Whew, we'd be able to go to the cabin after all. 

On Saturday morning, my daughter called us up to her bedroom. She pointed to her foot. It looked like at some point during the night, her foot had been replaced by a giant eggplant. Clearly, this was a little more complicated than a jammed toe. 

Now what? Do we pack everyone up and head back to Atlanta, where our familiar doctor and hospital were? If we decided to stay, would the local hospital -- Fannin Regional Hospital --  be able to treat our daughter adequately? And, would our insurance company cover the costs of care at a service provider outside of the network? 

We decided to let our daughter tell us what she felt most comfortable doing. Thankfully, she was fine with staying in Blue Ridge.  

After a call to our insurance company -- who assured us that this was an emergency and the costs would be covered -- we whisked our daughter off to Fannin Regional, where I am pleased to report they did a splendid job of diagnosing and treating her broken foot. The nurses and doctors were every bit as much the consummate professionals as their counterparts at our big university hospital in the city. And the wait in the emergency room was a fraction of the time it would have been in Atlanta. 

Our tale had a happy ending, but it is a cautionary one. Had we been wiser, we would have done our research before an emergency situation arose.

Hopefully, you will find the tools here that will help you plan ahead for that unexpected illness or injury while you are staying at your North Georgia mountain home.

The first order of business is to contact your insurance provider to find out what your coverage is in Fannin County. Most of the time, emergencies are covered no matter where you are. But, what constitutes an emergency to you, and to your insurance company may be two different things. A child suffering with an earache at 3 a.m. is most certainly an emergency to you, but your insurance provider may not see it that way. So, always make sure to have your insurer's phone number handy so, should there be any doubt, you can confirm ahead of time that a visit to the emergency room will be covered. 

You might also want to consider working with a an insurance broker to get a secondary insurance plan that will cover you in your second home area.  If you are eligible for Medicare, the plan covers you throughout the U.S.

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For any true medical emergency, call 911. Fannin County's EMS is based out of three of the area's fire stations, and can usually reach you within a matter of minutes .

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Area Hospital & Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic:

Fannin Regional Hospital
2855 Old Highway 5
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706-632-3711
Directions: From Hwy. 515 and Hwy. 5 N (at the McDonald's intersection), take Hwy 5 N 4.5 to a right on Professional Drive, then left on Old Hwy. 5 to hospital on right. Or, click here for a map.

For urgent, but non-emergency, illnesses or injuries that are unlikely to require hospitalization, you can visit: 
Immediate MedCare of Riverstone, LLC
101 Riverstone Vista, Suite 111
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706-258-4400
Directions: From Hwy. 515 and Hwy. 5N (at the McDonald's intersection), take Hwy. 515 E 3/4 of a mile to a left on Village Rd. (next to Taco Bell). Take Village Rd. to the top of the hill and then make a left into the Riverstone Medical Campus.

Clinic Hours:  
Monday - Friday:     8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday:  9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday:  12 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed New Year's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas

Should you stay at your North Georgia mountain home for a week or more at a time, you may also wish to develop a relationship with a physician you can visit Monday through Friday. Click here for a list of area physicians affilliated with Fannin Regional Hospital. 

Area Pharmacies:

Blue Ridge Pharmacy
793 E. Main Street
Blue Ridge, GA, 30513
(706) 632-2244

CVS Pharmacy - Store #7701
30 Orvin Lance Connector (Across Hwy. 515 from Riverstone Medical Campus / Ingles / Taco Bell)
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706-632-8097

Hours:
Monday - Friday:  8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Saturday:  8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sunday:  10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Ingles Pharmacy
5679 Appalachian Hwy.
Blue Ridge, GA. 30513
706-632-8060
    
McCaysville Drug Center Inc.
131 Blueridge Hwy
McCaysville, GA, 30555
(706) 492-4126

Parris Pharmacy
4149 East First Street (Valley Village Shopping Center -- Adjacent to Pizza Hut)
Blue Ridge, GA, 30513
706-632-2294

Hours:
Monday - Friday:    9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday:   9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Sunday :  Closed

Riverstone Pharmacy:
Located inside the Riverstone Medical Campus
101 Riverstone Vista, Suite 111
Blue Ridge, GA 30513
706-258-2294

Hours:
Monday:  9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Tuesday - Thursday:  9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Friday:  9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday:  Closed