The service journalism section: numbers, hours, and what to bring.

Every weekly has a page like this one: the numbers, the hours, the where-to-park. It is the least written-about part of the paper and the part people actually cut out and stick to the fridge. Here is ours.

Numbers and hours

South County: 11144 Tesson Ferry Road, Suite 200, Saint Louis, MO 63123. (314) 530-5480. Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm, Friday 9am to 12pm. Closed daily 12 to 2.

North County: 14 Village Square Shop Ctr, Hazelwood, MO 63042. (314) 627-1411. Monday through Thursday 9am to 6pm, Friday 9am to 12pm. Closed daily 12 to 2.

Lake St. Louis (O'Fallon): 2163 West Terra Lane, O'Fallon, MO 63366. (636) 280-0990. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 9am to 6pm. Wednesday and Friday by appointment. Closed daily 12 to 2.

The 12 to 2 closure is real at all three rooms and catches people every week. If you are calling at lunch, leave a message or call back at two. The rooms page has the same information laid out so you can pick the one you can drive to.

The script

Say it was an auto injury, give the crash date, ask for the earliest opening. That is the entire script. If your head hit something or you have felt foggy, dizzy, or light sensitive, say that too, in the same breath. Clinics can only examine what they know to ask about.

You do not have to explain whose fault it was. You do not have to know what your insurance will do. You do not need to have decided anything about a claim before you get examined. The front desk wants to know what happened, when, and how soon you can come in.

What to bring

• A photo ID and your insurance card, whatever you have. Ask the clinic directly how a visit is billed and what they accept; this desk does not publish payment terms for a clinic it does not own.
• Any paperwork from an ER or urgent care visit, including discharge instructions and imaging reports if you were given them.
• The crash date and a one-line account of what happened: rear-ended at a light, sideswiped on the highway, hit in a parking lot.
• A short, honest list of what has changed since the crash. Sleep, headaches, turning the head, bending, concentration. Notes beat memory.
• A list of medications you take, so nothing in the plan conflicts with them.
• If you already have an attorney, bring their contact so records can be sent where they need to go. If you do not, nothing about the visit requires one.

The first visit, previewed

A history of the crash. A physical exam of what it did: range of motion, where it hurts, what reproduces it, neurological checks where they apply. Findings written down and dated. A diagnosis if the findings support one. A treatment plan you can repeat out loud, and a straight answer about whether this is the right room or whether you need imaging, a referral, or a different specialty.

Ask the questions plainly: what did you find, what is the plan, how long before we should expect a change, and what would make you send me somewhere else. A clinician who cannot answer that is not handing you a record worth keeping. Missouri Injury Clinic's published lanes are auto injuries, TBI and concussion rehab after acute injury, and sports injuries. If your problem is one of those, you are in the right lane.

No subscriptions, no mystery packages, no pressure to believe anything. An exam and a plan.

The bright line

Chest pain, a sudden severe headache, weakness or numbness on one side, trouble speaking, a loss of bowel or bladder control, or a head injury with vomiting or worsening confusion is an emergency room trip right now, not a call to a clinic. An injury clinic is built for planned care. If the clinic sends you to an emergency room instead of booking you, that is the system working, not a wasted trip. The standing correction has the full list and the reasoning.

After the visit

Follow the plan. Keep the paper. Every visit after the first is a new dated entry, and the archive is how anyone, including you, can tell whether treatment is working or the story has changed. If something new shows up, say so at the next visit rather than waiting for it to pass. The record page explains what that document is for.

This page is educational and is not medical advice. It is also advertising, as disclosed below. The numbers are correct as published by the clinic; hours are worth confirming on the call.