Patients facing an unexpected illness or minor injury may find the health care system often feels stuck between two extremes: waiting weeks for a primary care appointment or spending hours in a crowded hospital emergency room.
Recognizing this gap, Harris Health is transforming its ambulatory care network, elevating its same-day clinics into integrated urgent care centers.
Why transition to urgent care?
While Harris Health’s same-day clinics have been vital since 2014, the upgraded urgent care model expands the complexity of onsite treatments. Instead of a standalone clinic, each center is designed to be a unified, comprehensive medical home—bringing advanced treatments, closer specialty connections, and essential diagnostic tools under one roof.
Harris Health operates two urgent care locations—one at the Outpatient Center at Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital and another at Harris Health Strawberry Health Center in Pasadena. Two more locations will transition by 2028, with Harris Health Sunset Heights Same Day Clinic next.
According to Sheterra Jenkins, senior operations manager for the urgent care clinics, Harris Health, the evolution is a direct response to patients’ health care experiences.
"Patients currently travel to neighboring health centers for lab work or imaging, delaying care," said Jenkins. "By co-locating at existing Harris Health locations, we are able to directly connect patients to radiology, pharmacy and other services onsite, creating a true one-stop shop. Our service provides a bridge to primary care while keeping patients out of a crowded ER."
The services offered at urgent care
By upgrading to full urgent care status, the clinics can now manage semi-acute issues that previously required a hospital visit.
"Urgent care helps patients too sick to wait weeks or months for their regular doctor, but not sick enough for the emergency room," said Dr. Joaquin Villegas, medical director of urgent care at the Outpatient Center, Harris Health, and assistant professor at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. "We can handle everything right then and there—whether it's a quick medication refill, same-day imaging for an ankle injury, or treating an ingrown toenail—to avoid multiple doctor visits."
Open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate working families, the urgent care centers provide:
- Same-day X-rays and select imaging
- IV fluids and medications
- Minor procedures, including stitches and abscess treatment
- Joint injections
- Rabies vaccinations
- On-site lab, pharmacy and diagnostic services at select locations
For established Harris Health patients, the urgent care teams can directly navigate the broader health care network for needed follow-up care.
Providing cutting-edge care
Harris Health’s urgent care centers are staffed by faculty and residents from its medical school partners—Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.
"Our clinical and research missions keep us entirely focused on up-to-date, evidence-based medicine, and this academic framework ensures our patients receive the highest quality care in their neighborhood clinic,” Dr. Kenneth Barning, medical director of the urgent care center at Strawberry Health Center and associate professor in the family and community medicine department at Baylor College of Medicine.
Instead of standard walk-in clinics, these locations function as active teaching environments where care delivery, education and continual learning are integrated.
Looking ahead
As Harris Health celebrates its 60th anniversary serving Harris County, the expansion of the urgent care network is a cornerstone of its strategic vision. By placing these centers in neighborhoods, the health system is tackling geographic barriers—ensuring a quick medical visit doesn't require a long commute.
During regional crises or severe weather events, these community-based teams can act as vital local anchors, ensuring everyday healthcare needs are met while major hospitals manage primary emergencies.
The goal is a seamless, localized healthcare ecosystem where every resident has an accessible place to turn. The future looks bright for ambulatory care in Harris County, and the expansion is just starting.
Learn more about Harris Health urgent care
Interested in Harris Health's urgent care services? Here's what you need to know before you go:
- Visits: Scheduled appointments or walk-in visits available
- Extended hours: Open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Bilingual care: Translation services are available, and at the outpatient center location, five of six medical providers are fluent Spanish speakers.
- Current urgent care locations:
- Urgent Care at Outpatient Center: 5550 Kelley St., Houston TX, 77026
- Urgent Care at Strawberry Health Center: 927 Shaw Ave., Pasadena TX, 77506
- What to bring: Valid ID, current health plan coverage information and a list of current medications.
To learn more about Harris Health’s Urgent Care Centers, click here.
The above story was produced by Multi-Platform Journalist Chloe Chapel, with the Community Impact's Storytelling team, using information solely provided by the local business as part of their "sponsored content" purchase through our advertising team.