Two new urgent care facilities operated by different Central Coast health care agencies opened within days of each other in late July.

On July 27, Dignity Health opened an urgent care facility in Solvang. A day later, Cottage Health opened an urgent care facility in Oxnard.

Urgent care is for medical issues that need medical assistance right away, but don’t require an emergency room visit. If someone twists their ankle because their pet decided to sit where they were about to step, and they aren’t sure if it’s sprained, fractured or broken, that might require a trip to an urgent care clinic.

Both sites can treat a range of issues, including health concerns that require an X-ray. The Cottage Health site in Oxnard also has a small lab it can use for quick tests.

Both new clinics represent a move by a major nonprofit health care provider into new territory. Cottage is based in Santa Barbara, where it operates Cottage Hospital and a network of clinics, and the new Oxnard location is its first urgent care clinic in Ventura County. It is one of ten new urgent care locations that Cottage plans to open before the end of the year.

Dignity Health has urgent cares in several other communities, including Santa Maria, Orcutt, Lompoc, Atascadero and Pismo Beach. It also owns hospitals in Camarillo, Oxnard, Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande and San Luis Obispo.

“The Santa Ynez Valley is one of the gems of the Central Coast, and Dignity Health is pleased to expand our network into this area,” said Scott Robertson, MD, Dignity Health Division Chief Medical Officer and CEO of Pacific Central Coast Health Centers, in a press release.