1
Cedar Point Ramp
1.6 nm NNW · Swansboro
Emergency department18.3 mi
Carteret Health Care+1 252 499 6000
The ER for Beaufort, Morehead City, Atlantic Beach and everything out to Cape Lookout.
Urgent care2.9 mi
Med First Urgent Care+1 252 354 6500
Where you'd actually go
On the water the question is not where the hospital is — it is which ramp or dock you run to, and what is on shore when you get there. Worth reading before you need it.
Calling for help
VHF 16
Channel 16 is monitored by the Coast Guard and by every vessel within range. Give your position, the nature of the problem, and how many people are aboard.
Offshore, the radio beats a phone: a VHF call is heard by the Coast Guard and by every boat within range at once, and those boats are the ones who reach you first. A phone call reaches one person who is not on the water.
- US Coast GuardFor anything life-threatening. Say MAYDAY three times.VHF channel 16, or 911
- TowBoatUSPorts at Southport, Wrightsville Beach, Topsail Beach, Swansboro and Beaufort. Also hail TowBoatUS on VHF 16.800-391-4869
- Sea TowFranchises at Ocean Isle, Wrightsville Beach and Crystal Coast. Also hail Sea Tow on VHF 16.800-473-2869
Set up your position report nowThe exact sentence to say on channel 16. Works with no signal — but open it once while you have one.Leave a float planSo somebody ashore knows where you went and when to worry
Nearest way off the water
From Emerald Isle. Pick a different stretch below to see its exits.
SouthportBald Head IslandCarolina BeachWilmingtonWrightsville BeachHampsteadSurf CityTopsail BeachSneads FerrySwansboroJacksonvilleEmerald IsleMorehead CityBeaufort
2
Dudley's Marina
1.9 nm NNW · Swansboro
Emergency department18 mi
Onslow Memorial Hospital+1 910 577 2345
Urgent care3.3 mi
Med First Urgent Care+1 252 354 6500
3
Cedar Point Boating Access Area
2.5 nm WNW · Swansboro
Emergency department16.8 mi
Onslow Memorial Hospital+1 910 577 2345
Urgent care4.4 mi
Med First Urgent Care+1 252 354 6500
Emergency departments on this coast
7 confirmed. Behavioural-health and orthopaedic-only hospitals are deliberately left out — sending somebody to one of those instead of a real emergency department would be a genuine harm.
- Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center+1 910 343 7000Wilmington
The largest hospital on this stretch. Not the same site as the NHRMC Orthopedic Hospital on Wrightsville Ave.
- Dosher Memorial Hospital+1 910 457 3800Southport
A small community hospital — closest to the Cape Fear inlets, but a serious injury may be moved on to Wilmington.
- Novant Health Brunswick Medical Center+1 910 721 1000Bolivia
- Pender Medical Center+1 910 300 4000Burgaw
Inland at Burgaw — a long drive from the Topsail beaches despite looking close on a map.
- Onslow Memorial Hospital+1 910 577 2345Jacksonville
- Carteret Health Care+1 252 499 6000Morehead City
The ER for Beaufort, Morehead City, Atlantic Beach and everything out to Cape Lookout.
- Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune+1 910 450 4300Camp Lejeune
On the base. Access is restricted — do not plan a civilian run here.
Urgent care
Walk-in only. Fine for a hook, a cut or a sting — not for a serious injury. This list is certainly incomplete — see the note at the bottom.
- Medac Urgent Care CenterWilmington+1 910 686 1972
- MedacWilmington
- FastMed Urgent CareWilmington
- FastMed Urgent CareWilmington
- Med First Primary & Urgent CareSneads Ferry
- Med First Urgent CareEmerald Isle+1 252 354 6500
Facilities and emergency-department status — © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0), retrieved 2026-08-22. Dispatch numbers and VHF guidance from BoatUS and Sea Tow’s own published pages.
What this list is not
- Emergency departments are those OpenStreetMap records the source itself tags emergency=yes. Three facilities OSM returns as hospitals here are excluded on purpose — two are behavioural health and one is a separate orthopaedic hospital.
- Not one facility in this area carries OpenStreetMap's urgent-care tag. The urgent cares listed were identified by name from clinic records, so this list is certainly incomplete — treat it as a starting point, not a directory.
- Distances to shore are straight-line over water and are not a route: check the water actually connects. Distances from a landing to a hospital are straight-line too, so the real drive is longer.
- Trauma centre levels are deliberately not shown. The verified national list is licensed against use in apps like this one, and we would rather show nothing than show something we cannot stand behind.
Reference information only. In an emergency call 911 or hail the Coast Guard on VHF 16 first — do not spend time in an app. This page gives locations and distances and nothing else: it offers no medical guidance, and it is not a substitute for knowing where you are.