January 17, 2026 • 11 mins
Flu cases keep surging here in Massachusetts as we make our way through the first weeks of winter, and emergency rooms are strained trying to keep up with the demand. Health care costs are on the way up, too, and primary care doctors can be hard to find if you don't already have one. Dr. Dustin Cotliar at South Shore Health stops by the show to talk about options patients have, including utilizing urgent care, as they try to navigate the season of sniffles.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each and every week we come together right here talk
about all the topics important to you and the place
where you live. Thanks for tuning in again this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Last week on the show, doctor Larry
Mattoff from the Department of Public Health was here and
we talked about just how intense the flu is this year.
By the way, if you haven't heard that interview yet,
(00:29):
it's up on the podcast, go check it out now.
This week, as a follow up of sorts, I wanted
to talk with an expert about your options for care.
Think about it. The cost of healthcare is so high
right now. We just entered a new year. Your deductible
is not paid off at this point. PCPs are in
short supply around Massachusetts. The ACA subsidies have been canceled.
Emergency rooms are packed. What do you do if you're
(00:51):
not feeling well?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Doctor Dustin Cottleer at south Shore Health is here to
chat about that. Doctor, Thank you for the time before
we get into all of these questions. What are you
seeing over there in your health system when it comes
to the flu.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So yeah, so kind of speaking to what you're mentioning,
We're seeing very high volumes of patients both within our
urgent care clinics and also within the ER. And so
because of the large influx of patients, all parts of
the I say, all parts of the healthcare system in
general are pretty taxed, and so patients are having a
(01:27):
really hard time getting the care that they need in general.
So that's part of the role that we like to fail,
or that we fail at south Shore Health. Urgent care.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Why do you think that most people tend to gravitate
towards the emergency room over going to a PCP or
an urgent care great question.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
I think that you know, urgent care, the emergency room
and urgent care is as a necessity for many people
because access is challenging. It's very hard, as people know,
to get an appointment with their primary doctor or with
the specialists. There's long wait times, and so urgent care
(02:06):
and the er as well, we fill that important need
or that important gap where people can get the care
that they need when they need it. And so one
of the reasons I think that people a lot of
people end up in the er is that it can
be very challenging for patients to know whether they should
whether you know what they're sick or they have a
(02:27):
particular problem, whether they should be going to an urgent
care center, or whether they should be going to an
emergency department.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, let's talk about that. Then when should somebody say
they've got a cold, or they think they might have
the flu or it could be covid, whatever it is
they're feeling. When should somebody lean toward heading toward an
urgent care as opposed to the emergency room.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So there are a few things that I would think about.
One of them would be difficulty breathing. So, as a
lot of a lot of the viewers know, when you're sick,
you typically will get a bad cough, and so a
lot of these viruses, covid, flu RSV have major effects
on the lungs, and so there can be this could
(03:07):
be challenging for patients to sort of stort out. But
there's there's a little bit of a difference between a
subjective feeling of being short of breath or being winded
versus actually having trouble breathing. So if somebody is feeling
pretty short of breath and they're having a really hard
(03:28):
time catching a breath or or they're having a hard
time forming sentences. That's something that we might look at
or assess in the clinic, is how well or how
comfortable it is or someone to string together words or sentences.
If somebody is having a hard time doing that, then
that means that they're breathing is labored, and they might
(03:49):
want to hedge and go towards the emergency department. Some
other things too when it comes to breathing, would be
an oxygen saturation. So if someone a typical normal action
saturation is over ninety three percent, So if somebody had
an at home device and they're checking it and it
tends to you range, you know, lower down to ninety
three or below, that would also be a good a
(04:12):
good reason to go to the emergency department versus urgent care.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Okay, And unfortunately, if you do go to the er,
there is going to be probably a pretty good way
because you said they are crammed. But if you are
in that sort of a space where you can't breathe,
or you're having you know, heard issues, or you're passing
out or something, you need to go and they will
get you through. If you are in really rough shape.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Absolutely absolutely. I think that something that a lot of
people don't know is that when patients show up to
the emergency department and there are typically long waits, especially
this time of year, that it isn't it's a combination
of first come, first serve, but even more importantly, how
sick the person is, and that's actually weighted a lot
(04:57):
more than the time or the order that somebody arrives there.
So when patients arrive to the er, they get initially triage,
and they get their vital signs taken, they have an
experienced nurse assess them, and so at that initial visit
point in the er, they're basically the patients assigned a
(05:17):
level of seriousness you could think of, so people, if
somebody showed up to the er and they were having
true difficulty breathing, that person's going to be taken back
very quickly into the er and assessed, just like somebody who,
let's say came in on the ambulance for trouble breathing.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Now somebody thinks, okay, so I shouldn't go to the er,
but I'm still not really feeling all that good. What
happens then when they go to the urgent care? What
does your care or how does your care differ and
how is your care similar to what they would get
at the er.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Great question, So in urgent care, urgent care is really
a great initial option for I would say the vast
majority of people, and so at Sashare Health Urgent Care
where I work, most of our clinicians are either experienced
board certified emergency physicians or our pas or nps who
(06:08):
are very experienced, including experience working in the er. So
one of the things that we're very our providers are
very very skilled that is assessing a patient quickly to
get a sense of you know, how to get a
sense of severity and how severe the person's condition is
or how at risk they are to compensation. So even
(06:30):
going that's a very comic thing that that we see
and we deal with an urgent care is people who
come and who ultimately need to be transferred to the
er because they're just a little bit too sick.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
It wasn't that long ago, I feel when urgent care
there were only a few of them, but I've noticed
a lot of urgent cares popping up, and I know
you over at south Shore Health they're really leaning into this.
Let's talk about access. What is it looking like now
when it comes to urgent care access in your part
of the state.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah, so we short Health. We have six clinics all
across all along the South Shore, and we we have
and we have where definitely we feel an important need
for access or patients. We're open seven seven days a week,
including the weekends, and we have various different ways that
(07:17):
you can interface with us. You can schedule an appointment beforehand,
you can walk in, you can pre register, and so
there there are a lot of options for patients when
it comes to urgent care, specifically not necessarily some of
the other traditional avenues of receiving care like primary care
or specialty clinics, but in terms of urgent care, there
(07:37):
are options. The one of the main differentiators between us
and some of the other options are some of the
more corporate options, is that we are we are fully
integrated into a robust health system that is very trusted
in the area, and we provide access to uh you know,
(07:59):
BOORD certified position and very experienced pas and nps, which
I think is different than some of the other of
the other like providers in the or other clinics in
the in the area, and we definitely hold ourselves a
very high standard and definitely at least we believe that
we provide a higher level of care than some of
(08:20):
our competitors.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
What if somebody is worried about insurance or you know,
I mean the whole ACA situation when it comes to
copays and higher premiums, A lot of people might not
be wanting to sign up for insurance right now. They
might be struggling, frankly with the high cost of healthcare.
How can urgent care help with that or how can
people navigate that with urgent care being an option?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Yeah, I definitely, I definitely feel that it's a stressful
time for people in general, whether it's Coloba, flu season,
the economy, and as you mentioned, a lot of disruptions
in ACA based coverage. Urgent care is a great option
for many people. I think that the one of the
more important things that I advise people just in general
(09:05):
is just thinking about your insurance network. And so a
good starting point is to check with your insurance plan,
assuming you have insurance to see you know that the that
the clinic you're going to go through is in network.
That's always very helpful, and we're we have a very
large network of insurance providers that we uh contract with.
(09:27):
The other thing too, is that we for patients who
aren't as fortunate to have insurance. We have robust self
pay options, and we have predictable pricing for different services,
and our providers are very very trained and skilled working
with patients who are self pay to develop a cohesive
(09:48):
treatment plan that works for the patient and uh you know,
works in terms of finances, and we're very upfront and
transparent about pricing before we do any testing or treatments.
Working in urging care, we we are in a sense
ground zero for the difficulties that patients face in the
healthcare system, and so we view ourselves as a stop
(10:11):
gap for people who are unable to get into see
their doctor or who need care then in there but
don't you know, but aren't don't warrant an emergency department visit.
And also a lot of we see so many patients
also who are uninsured or under insured, and so we
really were really fully understanding of the challenges that people
(10:31):
are facing, and our main goal is really to step
up to the challenge and be there for patients to
provide a very high level of care.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
All right, Well, then let's talk about how people can
get a hold of you. You mentioned you've got urgent
cares open seven days a week. If somebody is just
kind of feeling down and out, just not really enjoying
their time with the flu or COVID or whatever pops up,
how should they get in touch with you to set
up an appointment or to seek answers for whatever they're
dealing with.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Absolutely, absolutely, so, I would jump on Google. And we
previously were called Health southsh for Health Express Urgent Care,
and now we are officially south Shore Health Urgent Care.
So jump on Google look for one of our six locations.
We have locations at Weymouth, Abington, Braintree, Pembroke, Kingston and Plymouth.
(11:20):
And you can just go on our website and schedule appointment,
or you can pre register, or you could just walk in.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Okay, well, doctor, thank you for the time, and I
hope that the rest of flu season goes quickly and
things ease up a bit for you all in the
healthcare field.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Thank you so much, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I hope you have a safe and healthy and warm weekend.
Please come back and join us again next week for
another edition. Of the show. I'm Nicole Davis FROMBZ news
Radio on iHeartRadio
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each and every week we come together right here talk
about all the topics important to you and the place
where you live. Thanks for tuning in again this week.
I'm Nicole Davis. Last week on the show, doctor Larry
Mattoff from the Department of Public Health was here and
we talked about just how intense the flu is this year.
By the way, if you haven't heard that interview yet,
(00:29):
it's up on the podcast, go check it out now.
This week, as a follow up of sorts, I wanted
to talk with an expert about your options for care.
Think about it. The cost of healthcare is so high
right now. We just entered a new year. Your deductible
is not paid off at this point. PCPs are in
short supply around Massachusetts. The ACA subsidies have been canceled.
Emergency rooms are packed. What do you do if you're
(00:51):
not feeling well?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Doctor Dustin Cottleer at south Shore Health is here to
chat about that. Doctor, Thank you for the time before
we get into all of these questions. What are you
seeing over there in your health system when it comes
to the flu.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So yeah, so kind of speaking to what you're mentioning,
We're seeing very high volumes of patients both within our
urgent care clinics and also within the ER. And so
because of the large influx of patients, all parts of
the I say, all parts of the healthcare system in
general are pretty taxed, and so patients are having a
(01:27):
really hard time getting the care that they need in general.
So that's part of the role that we like to fail,
or that we fail at south Shore Health. Urgent care.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Why do you think that most people tend to gravitate
towards the emergency room over going to a PCP or
an urgent care great question.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
I think that you know, urgent care, the emergency room
and urgent care is as a necessity for many people
because access is challenging. It's very hard, as people know,
to get an appointment with their primary doctor or with
the specialists. There's long wait times, and so urgent care
(02:06):
and the er as well, we fill that important need
or that important gap where people can get the care
that they need when they need it. And so one
of the reasons I think that people a lot of
people end up in the er is that it can
be very challenging for patients to know whether they should
whether you know what they're sick or they have a
(02:27):
particular problem, whether they should be going to an urgent
care center, or whether they should be going to an
emergency department.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Yeah, let's talk about that. Then when should somebody say
they've got a cold, or they think they might have
the flu or it could be covid, whatever it is
they're feeling. When should somebody lean toward heading toward an
urgent care as opposed to the emergency room.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So there are a few things that I would think about.
One of them would be difficulty breathing. So, as a
lot of a lot of the viewers know, when you're sick,
you typically will get a bad cough, and so a
lot of these viruses, covid, flu RSV have major effects
on the lungs, and so there can be this could
(03:07):
be challenging for patients to sort of stort out. But
there's there's a little bit of a difference between a
subjective feeling of being short of breath or being winded
versus actually having trouble breathing. So if somebody is feeling
pretty short of breath and they're having a really hard
(03:28):
time catching a breath or or they're having a hard
time forming sentences. That's something that we might look at
or assess in the clinic, is how well or how
comfortable it is or someone to string together words or sentences.
If somebody is having a hard time doing that, then
that means that they're breathing is labored, and they might
(03:49):
want to hedge and go towards the emergency department. Some
other things too when it comes to breathing, would be
an oxygen saturation. So if someone a typical normal action
saturation is over ninety three percent, So if somebody had
an at home device and they're checking it and it
tends to you range, you know, lower down to ninety
three or below, that would also be a good a
(04:12):
good reason to go to the emergency department versus urgent care.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Okay, And unfortunately, if you do go to the er,
there is going to be probably a pretty good way
because you said they are crammed. But if you are
in that sort of a space where you can't breathe,
or you're having you know, heard issues, or you're passing
out or something, you need to go and they will
get you through. If you are in really rough shape.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Absolutely absolutely. I think that something that a lot of
people don't know is that when patients show up to
the emergency department and there are typically long waits, especially
this time of year, that it isn't it's a combination
of first come, first serve, but even more importantly, how
sick the person is, and that's actually weighted a lot
(04:57):
more than the time or the order that somebody arrives there.
So when patients arrive to the er, they get initially triage,
and they get their vital signs taken, they have an
experienced nurse assess them, and so at that initial visit
point in the er, they're basically the patients assigned a
(05:17):
level of seriousness you could think of, so people, if
somebody showed up to the er and they were having
true difficulty breathing, that person's going to be taken back
very quickly into the er and assessed, just like somebody who,
let's say came in on the ambulance for trouble breathing.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Now somebody thinks, okay, so I shouldn't go to the er,
but I'm still not really feeling all that good. What
happens then when they go to the urgent care? What
does your care or how does your care differ and
how is your care similar to what they would get
at the er.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Great question, So in urgent care, urgent care is really
a great initial option for I would say the vast
majority of people, and so at Sashare Health Urgent Care
where I work, most of our clinicians are either experienced
board certified emergency physicians or our pas or nps who
(06:08):
are very experienced, including experience working in the er. So
one of the things that we're very our providers are
very very skilled that is assessing a patient quickly to
get a sense of you know, how to get a
sense of severity and how severe the person's condition is
or how at risk they are to compensation. So even
(06:30):
going that's a very comic thing that that we see
and we deal with an urgent care is people who
come and who ultimately need to be transferred to the
er because they're just a little bit too sick.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
It wasn't that long ago, I feel when urgent care
there were only a few of them, but I've noticed
a lot of urgent cares popping up, and I know
you over at south Shore Health they're really leaning into this.
Let's talk about access. What is it looking like now
when it comes to urgent care access in your part
of the state.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah, so we short Health. We have six clinics all
across all along the South Shore, and we we have
and we have where definitely we feel an important need
for access or patients. We're open seven seven days a week,
including the weekends, and we have various different ways that
(07:17):
you can interface with us. You can schedule an appointment beforehand,
you can walk in, you can pre register, and so
there there are a lot of options for patients when
it comes to urgent care, specifically not necessarily some of
the other traditional avenues of receiving care like primary care
or specialty clinics, but in terms of urgent care, there
(07:37):
are options. The one of the main differentiators between us
and some of the other options are some of the
more corporate options, is that we are we are fully
integrated into a robust health system that is very trusted
in the area, and we provide access to uh you know,
(07:59):
BOORD certified position and very experienced pas and nps, which
I think is different than some of the other of
the other like providers in the or other clinics in
the in the area, and we definitely hold ourselves a
very high standard and definitely at least we believe that
we provide a higher level of care than some of
(08:20):
our competitors.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
What if somebody is worried about insurance or you know,
I mean the whole ACA situation when it comes to
copays and higher premiums, A lot of people might not
be wanting to sign up for insurance right now. They
might be struggling, frankly with the high cost of healthcare.
How can urgent care help with that or how can
people navigate that with urgent care being an option?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Yeah, I definitely, I definitely feel that it's a stressful
time for people in general, whether it's Coloba, flu season,
the economy, and as you mentioned, a lot of disruptions
in ACA based coverage. Urgent care is a great option
for many people. I think that the one of the
more important things that I advise people just in general
(09:05):
is just thinking about your insurance network. And so a
good starting point is to check with your insurance plan,
assuming you have insurance to see you know that the that
the clinic you're going to go through is in network.
That's always very helpful, and we're we have a very
large network of insurance providers that we uh contract with.
(09:27):
The other thing too, is that we for patients who
aren't as fortunate to have insurance. We have robust self
pay options, and we have predictable pricing for different services,
and our providers are very very trained and skilled working
with patients who are self pay to develop a cohesive
(09:48):
treatment plan that works for the patient and uh you know,
works in terms of finances, and we're very upfront and
transparent about pricing before we do any testing or treatments.
Working in urging care, we we are in a sense
ground zero for the difficulties that patients face in the
healthcare system, and so we view ourselves as a stop
(10:11):
gap for people who are unable to get into see
their doctor or who need care then in there but
don't you know, but aren't don't warrant an emergency department visit.
And also a lot of we see so many patients
also who are uninsured or under insured, and so we
really were really fully understanding of the challenges that people
(10:31):
are facing, and our main goal is really to step
up to the challenge and be there for patients to
provide a very high level of care.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
All right, Well, then let's talk about how people can
get a hold of you. You mentioned you've got urgent
cares open seven days a week. If somebody is just
kind of feeling down and out, just not really enjoying
their time with the flu or COVID or whatever pops up,
how should they get in touch with you to set
up an appointment or to seek answers for whatever they're
dealing with.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Absolutely, absolutely, so, I would jump on Google. And we
previously were called Health southsh for Health Express Urgent Care,
and now we are officially south Shore Health Urgent Care.
So jump on Google look for one of our six locations.
We have locations at Weymouth, Abington, Braintree, Pembroke, Kingston and Plymouth.
(11:20):
And you can just go on our website and schedule appointment,
or you can pre register, or you could just walk in.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
Okay, well, doctor, thank you for the time, and I
hope that the rest of flu season goes quickly and
things ease up a bit for you all in the
healthcare field.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Thank you so much, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
I hope you have a safe and healthy and warm weekend.
Please come back and join us again next week for
another edition. Of the show. I'm Nicole Davis FROMBZ news
Radio on iHeartRadio
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