The 560-bed hospital that once threatened to hang like a dead albatross around the neck of the University of Miami Health System has begun to show signs of a financial turnaround — inspiring talk of “a new day” from the chief executive for UHealth, the UM network of hospitals, clinics and doctors that make up the region’s only academic medical center.
“Last year, we had our best financial year ever,” said Dr. Edward Abraham, UHealth CEO.
A growing demand for cancer care, a rise in outpatient clinic visits and the consolidation of three separate UM hospitals under a single license helped UHealth record a $217 million profit for the year that ended May 31, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
That’s nearly three times the $83.8 million profit UHealth reported for the prior year, and includes some good news for the formerly named Cedars of Lebanon Hospital that UM purchased in 2007 but has struggled to make profitable in recent years.
Though the hospital, renamed UHealth Tower, lost $79.1 million for the year that ended May 31, there’s a silver lining: The loss is considerably less than the hospital’s prior year deficit of $94.5 million, and it does not account for a significant investment UM is making to refurbish the aging facility with new operating rooms, interior and exterior renovations, and infrastructure upgrades, including new generators and elevators.
UHealth announced in January that the hospital will be home to a new proton therapy program for cancer, which blasts highly charged proton particles at tumors, reducing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The program is expected to debut in 2020.
Additional investments in UHealth Tower include five new cardiac catheterization labs and other resources aimed at rebuilding the hospital’s cardiac surgery program, which was set back by the November 2017 departure of two prominent surgeons, Donald Williams and Rogerio Carrillo, specialists in coronary bypass, valve repair, and aortic surgery.
Abraham declined to explain why Williams and Carrillo left UHealth. “I really can’t talk about the personnel actions,” he said.
The surgeons’ departure led to a reduction in cardiac surgeries at UHealth Tower over the past year, and the university has a strategy beyond investing in new resources to rebuild the program — recruiting a star physician who will attract patients from near and far.
Past and present UHealth executives familiar with the system’s plans said that star physician is Joseph Lamelas, a Cuban-American native of South Florida who is considered a pioneer in minimally invasive heart surgery. The former chief of cardiac surgery for Mount Sinai Miami Beach, Lamelas left South Florida for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 2017. Sources said he will return to Miami to work for UHealth in January.
Asked about Lamelas, Abraham blushed and laughed. “I can’t say anything,” he said.
The investments in UHealth Tower and the addition of Lamelas are designed to leverage two lucrative services for South Florida hospitals — cancer and cardiac care — and to enhance the system’s core brand as an academic medical center with a faculty practice of nearly 1,300 physicians and specialists, a medical school that trains doctors and performs research, and an integrated network of hospitals and clinics.
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
A growing demand for cancer care, a rise in outpatient clinic visits and the consolidation of three separate UM hospitals under a single license helped UHealth record a $217 million profit for the year that ended May 31, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
That’s nearly three times the $83.8 million profit UHealth reported for the prior year, and includes some good news for the formerly named Cedars of Lebanon Hospital that UM purchased in 2007 but has struggled to make profitable in recent years.
Though the hospital, renamed UHealth Tower, lost $79.1 million for the year that ended May 31, there’s a silver lining: The loss is considerably less than the hospital’s prior year deficit of $94.5 million, and it does not account for a significant investment UM is making to refurbish the aging facility with new operating rooms, interior and exterior renovations, and infrastructure upgrades, including new generators and elevators.
UHealth announced in January that the hospital will be home to a new proton therapy program for cancer, which blasts highly charged proton particles at tumors, reducing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The program is expected to debut in 2020.
Additional investments in UHealth Tower include five new cardiac catheterization labs and other resources aimed at rebuilding the hospital’s cardiac surgery program, which was set back by the November 2017 departure of two prominent surgeons, Donald Williams and Rogerio Carrillo, specialists in coronary bypass, valve repair, and aortic surgery.
Abraham declined to explain why Williams and Carrillo left UHealth. “I really can’t talk about the personnel actions,” he said.
The surgeons’ departure led to a reduction in cardiac surgeries at UHealth Tower over the past year, and the university has a strategy beyond investing in new resources to rebuild the program — recruiting a star physician who will attract patients from near and far.
Past and present UHealth executives familiar with the system’s plans said that star physician is Joseph Lamelas, a Cuban-American native of South Florida who is considered a pioneer in minimally invasive heart surgery. The former chief of cardiac surgery for Mount Sinai Miami Beach, Lamelas left South Florida for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 2017. Sources said he will return to Miami to work for UHealth in January.
Asked about Lamelas, Abraham blushed and laughed. “I can’t say anything,” he said.
The investments in UHealth Tower and the addition of Lamelas are designed to leverage two lucrative services for South Florida hospitals — cancer and cardiac care — and to enhance the system’s core brand as an academic medical center with a faculty practice of nearly 1,300 physicians and specialists, a medical school that trains doctors and performs research, and an integrated network of hospitals and clinics.
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Though the hospital, renamed UHealth Tower, lost $79.1 million for the year that ended May 31, there’s a silver lining: The loss is considerably less than the hospital’s prior year deficit of $94.5 million, and it does not account for a significant investment UM is making to refurbish the aging facility with new operating rooms, interior and exterior renovations, and infrastructure upgrades, including new generators and elevators.
UHealth announced in January that the hospital will be home to a new proton therapy program for cancer, which blasts highly charged proton particles at tumors, reducing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. The program is expected to debut in 2020.
Additional investments in UHealth Tower include five new cardiac catheterization labs and other resources aimed at rebuilding the hospital’s cardiac surgery program, which was set back by the November 2017 departure of two prominent surgeons, Donald Williams and Rogerio Carrillo, specialists in coronary bypass, valve repair, and aortic surgery.
Abraham declined to explain why Williams and Carrillo left UHealth. “I really can’t talk about the personnel actions,” he said.
The surgeons’ departure led to a reduction in cardiac surgeries at UHealth Tower over the past year, and the university has a strategy beyond investing in new resources to rebuild the program — recruiting a star physician who will attract patients from near and far.
Past and present UHealth executives familiar with the system’s plans said that star physician is Joseph Lamelas, a Cuban-American native of South Florida who is considered a pioneer in minimally invasive heart surgery. The former chief of cardiac surgery for Mount Sinai Miami Beach, Lamelas left South Florida for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 2017. Sources said he will return to Miami to work for UHealth in January.
Asked about Lamelas, Abraham blushed and laughed. “I can’t say anything,” he said.
The investments in UHealth Tower and the addition of Lamelas are designed to leverage two lucrative services for South Florida hospitals — cancer and cardiac care — and to enhance the system’s core brand as an academic medical center with a faculty practice of nearly 1,300 physicians and specialists, a medical school that trains doctors and performs research, and an integrated network of hospitals and clinics.
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Additional investments in UHealth Tower include five new cardiac catheterization labs and other resources aimed at rebuilding the hospital’s cardiac surgery program, which was set back by the November 2017 departure of two prominent surgeons, Donald Williams and Rogerio Carrillo, specialists in coronary bypass, valve repair, and aortic surgery.
Abraham declined to explain why Williams and Carrillo left UHealth. “I really can’t talk about the personnel actions,” he said.
The surgeons’ departure led to a reduction in cardiac surgeries at UHealth Tower over the past year, and the university has a strategy beyond investing in new resources to rebuild the program — recruiting a star physician who will attract patients from near and far.
Past and present UHealth executives familiar with the system’s plans said that star physician is Joseph Lamelas, a Cuban-American native of South Florida who is considered a pioneer in minimally invasive heart surgery. The former chief of cardiac surgery for Mount Sinai Miami Beach, Lamelas left South Florida for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 2017. Sources said he will return to Miami to work for UHealth in January.
Asked about Lamelas, Abraham blushed and laughed. “I can’t say anything,” he said.
The investments in UHealth Tower and the addition of Lamelas are designed to leverage two lucrative services for South Florida hospitals — cancer and cardiac care — and to enhance the system’s core brand as an academic medical center with a faculty practice of nearly 1,300 physicians and specialists, a medical school that trains doctors and performs research, and an integrated network of hospitals and clinics.
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
The surgeons’ departure led to a reduction in cardiac surgeries at UHealth Tower over the past year, and the university has a strategy beyond investing in new resources to rebuild the program — recruiting a star physician who will attract patients from near and far.
Past and present UHealth executives familiar with the system’s plans said that star physician is Joseph Lamelas, a Cuban-American native of South Florida who is considered a pioneer in minimally invasive heart surgery. The former chief of cardiac surgery for Mount Sinai Miami Beach, Lamelas left South Florida for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in 2017. Sources said he will return to Miami to work for UHealth in January.
Asked about Lamelas, Abraham blushed and laughed. “I can’t say anything,” he said.
The investments in UHealth Tower and the addition of Lamelas are designed to leverage two lucrative services for South Florida hospitals — cancer and cardiac care — and to enhance the system’s core brand as an academic medical center with a faculty practice of nearly 1,300 physicians and specialists, a medical school that trains doctors and performs research, and an integrated network of hospitals and clinics.
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Asked about Lamelas, Abraham blushed and laughed. “I can’t say anything,” he said.
The investments in UHealth Tower and the addition of Lamelas are designed to leverage two lucrative services for South Florida hospitals — cancer and cardiac care — and to enhance the system’s core brand as an academic medical center with a faculty practice of nearly 1,300 physicians and specialists, a medical school that trains doctors and performs research, and an integrated network of hospitals and clinics.
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
“It’s really our destiny,” Abraham said, “to set up these destination programs, these marquee programs that take full advantage of this expertise.”
But some hospital and healthcare experts doubt that UHealth’s brand as an academic medical center will be enough to set it apart from other health systems in the region that have made similar investments.
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest nonprofit hospital system, opened a $430 million cancer center in January 2017 that is partnered with the nationally regarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York while Memorial Healthcare System in South Broward is partnered with Tampa’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated program.
Allan Baumgarten, an independent healthcare analyst and author of the bi-annual Florida Health Market Review, said lucrative lines of business for hospitals and health systems are also highly competitive.
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
“At a certain point,” he said, “you have to think that there’s a saturation point.”
Baumgarten said hospitals with destination cancer programs also are vulnerable to changes in payment by Medicare, the national health insurance program for Americans 65 and older, and the largest payer of hospital care in the United States.
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Healthcare systems that deliver chemotherapy and other cancer treatment through outpatient clinics are allowed to charge hospital prices, which are higher. But Medicare is moving toward so-called site-neutral payments that would cap reimbursement for clinic visits at a lower rate comparable to that paid for care delivered in a doctor’s office.
“If Medicare is able to do that,” Baumgarten said, “then private insurers will likely follow.”
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
Joshua Nemzoff, a Pennsylvania hospital consultant who used to live in Miami, said UHealth must find a way to differentiate itself in a market where so many other hospitals and health systems offer more modern facilities located closer to where people live — and the quality of care is generally very good.
“There is no clear standout,” he said of South Florida hospitals.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE STORY
From the outside, the new Bayfront Health building in Pinellas Park looks like a typical medical clinic.
With its brick facade and modest parking lot, it could be an urgent care center or a doctor’s office. But it’s actually a free-standing emergency room, equipped to handle much more critical cases. The facility at Gandy Boulevard and Interstate 275 is the first of its kind for Bayfront Health, which operates a traditional emergency room just a few miles away at its downtown St. Petersburg hospital.
So why build another one?
To keep up with everyone else. Nearly every hospital chain is opening free-standing emergency rooms — commonly referred to as emergency departments, or EDs — to connect the dots between their major hospitals while cutting wait times and medical costs for consumers. They’re popping up everywhere in Tampa Bay.
“Larger hospital centers like Adventist or Bayfront Health see this as being part of their ‘extended tentacles’ into the community to provide access,” said Jay Wolfson, a professor at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. “One of the more profound parts of this phenomenon is that millennials are using these things extensively. Probably because there are lower wait times.”
As the health care industry evolves, most hospital operators are moving away from banking on sick people coming to their ERs. Instead, they are beefing up primary care and trying to keep patients out of the hospital. Many are opening urgent care clinics and creating telemedicine apps where patients can interact with doctors from their cell phone screens. Emergency departments offer yet another layer of care, just around the corner.
“The hospital is no longer the absolute center for health care in the community, unless it’s for intensive or emergency care,” Wolfson said. “But this is motivated by business as well. These health care companies are going to encourage people to go to these other sites, like free-standing EDs and preventative care services, as a way to introduce patients to their brand. Once you’re in the system, and you had a good experience, you’ll be more likely to return to that brand.”
Bayfront Health’s free-standing ED will open on Dec. 10. It will be manned by at least one trauma-trained physician and support nurse, plus technician and laboratory staff 24 hours a day, seven days week. The 8-bed unit is equipped with a resuscitation room, pediatrics care, radiology and lab services.
It also has a drive-up loop for ambulances. Bayfront Health is working with local paramedic providers to coordinate protocols for transporting patients to and from the facility.
It will be able to handle medical emergencies like respiratory distress, food poisoning, allergic reactions, bone fractures and minor burns, but residents should know that they can’t stay there overnight for care. Such facilities operate in a space between urgent care clinics and regular emergency rooms, the latter where patients can be quickly admitted into hospitals.
Still, emergency departments are committed to quality care and keeping wait times low, said Dr. Traci Ryan, medical director at the new Bayfront Health facility.
“The doctors and nurses here are trained the same as the doctors and nurses who work in the emergency room in St. Petersburg,” Ryan said. “If a patient comes here and is having a heart attack, that is something we can stabilize here, and then transfer that patient to the hospital to be admitted.”
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
So why build another one?
To keep up with everyone else. Nearly every hospital chain is opening free-standing emergency rooms — commonly referred to as emergency departments, or EDs — to connect the dots between their major hospitals while cutting wait times and medical costs for consumers. They’re popping up everywhere in Tampa Bay.
“Larger hospital centers like Adventist or Bayfront Health see this as being part of their ‘extended tentacles’ into the community to provide access,” said Jay Wolfson, a professor at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. “One of the more profound parts of this phenomenon is that millennials are using these things extensively. Probably because there are lower wait times.”
As the health care industry evolves, most hospital operators are moving away from banking on sick people coming to their ERs. Instead, they are beefing up primary care and trying to keep patients out of the hospital. Many are opening urgent care clinics and creating telemedicine apps where patients can interact with doctors from their cell phone screens. Emergency departments offer yet another layer of care, just around the corner.
“The hospital is no longer the absolute center for health care in the community, unless it’s for intensive or emergency care,” Wolfson said. “But this is motivated by business as well. These health care companies are going to encourage people to go to these other sites, like free-standing EDs and preventative care services, as a way to introduce patients to their brand. Once you’re in the system, and you had a good experience, you’ll be more likely to return to that brand.”
Bayfront Health’s free-standing ED will open on Dec. 10. It will be manned by at least one trauma-trained physician and support nurse, plus technician and laboratory staff 24 hours a day, seven days week. The 8-bed unit is equipped with a resuscitation room, pediatrics care, radiology and lab services.
It also has a drive-up loop for ambulances. Bayfront Health is working with local paramedic providers to coordinate protocols for transporting patients to and from the facility.
It will be able to handle medical emergencies like respiratory distress, food poisoning, allergic reactions, bone fractures and minor burns, but residents should know that they can’t stay there overnight for care. Such facilities operate in a space between urgent care clinics and regular emergency rooms, the latter where patients can be quickly admitted into hospitals.
Still, emergency departments are committed to quality care and keeping wait times low, said Dr. Traci Ryan, medical director at the new Bayfront Health facility.
“The doctors and nurses here are trained the same as the doctors and nurses who work in the emergency room in St. Petersburg,” Ryan said. “If a patient comes here and is having a heart attack, that is something we can stabilize here, and then transfer that patient to the hospital to be admitted.”
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“Larger hospital centers like Adventist or Bayfront Health see this as being part of their ‘extended tentacles’ into the community to provide access,” said Jay Wolfson, a professor at the University of South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. “One of the more profound parts of this phenomenon is that millennials are using these things extensively. Probably because there are lower wait times.”
As the health care industry evolves, most hospital operators are moving away from banking on sick people coming to their ERs. Instead, they are beefing up primary care and trying to keep patients out of the hospital. Many are opening urgent care clinics and creating telemedicine apps where patients can interact with doctors from their cell phone screens. Emergency departments offer yet another layer of care, just around the corner.
“The hospital is no longer the absolute center for health care in the community, unless it’s for intensive or emergency care,” Wolfson said. “But this is motivated by business as well. These health care companies are going to encourage people to go to these other sites, like free-standing EDs and preventative care services, as a way to introduce patients to their brand. Once you’re in the system, and you had a good experience, you’ll be more likely to return to that brand.”
Bayfront Health’s free-standing ED will open on Dec. 10. It will be manned by at least one trauma-trained physician and support nurse, plus technician and laboratory staff 24 hours a day, seven days week. The 8-bed unit is equipped with a resuscitation room, pediatrics care, radiology and lab services.
It also has a drive-up loop for ambulances. Bayfront Health is working with local paramedic providers to coordinate protocols for transporting patients to and from the facility.
It will be able to handle medical emergencies like respiratory distress, food poisoning, allergic reactions, bone fractures and minor burns, but residents should know that they can’t stay there overnight for care. Such facilities operate in a space between urgent care clinics and regular emergency rooms, the latter where patients can be quickly admitted into hospitals.
Still, emergency departments are committed to quality care and keeping wait times low, said Dr. Traci Ryan, medical director at the new Bayfront Health facility.
“The doctors and nurses here are trained the same as the doctors and nurses who work in the emergency room in St. Petersburg,” Ryan said. “If a patient comes here and is having a heart attack, that is something we can stabilize here, and then transfer that patient to the hospital to be admitted.”
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“The hospital is no longer the absolute center for health care in the community, unless it’s for intensive or emergency care,” Wolfson said. “But this is motivated by business as well. These health care companies are going to encourage people to go to these other sites, like free-standing EDs and preventative care services, as a way to introduce patients to their brand. Once you’re in the system, and you had a good experience, you’ll be more likely to return to that brand.”
Bayfront Health’s free-standing ED will open on Dec. 10. It will be manned by at least one trauma-trained physician and support nurse, plus technician and laboratory staff 24 hours a day, seven days week. The 8-bed unit is equipped with a resuscitation room, pediatrics care, radiology and lab services.
It also has a drive-up loop for ambulances. Bayfront Health is working with local paramedic providers to coordinate protocols for transporting patients to and from the facility.
It will be able to handle medical emergencies like respiratory distress, food poisoning, allergic reactions, bone fractures and minor burns, but residents should know that they can’t stay there overnight for care. Such facilities operate in a space between urgent care clinics and regular emergency rooms, the latter where patients can be quickly admitted into hospitals.
Still, emergency departments are committed to quality care and keeping wait times low, said Dr. Traci Ryan, medical director at the new Bayfront Health facility.
“The doctors and nurses here are trained the same as the doctors and nurses who work in the emergency room in St. Petersburg,” Ryan said. “If a patient comes here and is having a heart attack, that is something we can stabilize here, and then transfer that patient to the hospital to be admitted.”
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
It also has a drive-up loop for ambulances. Bayfront Health is working with local paramedic providers to coordinate protocols for transporting patients to and from the facility.
It will be able to handle medical emergencies like respiratory distress, food poisoning, allergic reactions, bone fractures and minor burns, but residents should know that they can’t stay there overnight for care. Such facilities operate in a space between urgent care clinics and regular emergency rooms, the latter where patients can be quickly admitted into hospitals.
Still, emergency departments are committed to quality care and keeping wait times low, said Dr. Traci Ryan, medical director at the new Bayfront Health facility.
“The doctors and nurses here are trained the same as the doctors and nurses who work in the emergency room in St. Petersburg,” Ryan said. “If a patient comes here and is having a heart attack, that is something we can stabilize here, and then transfer that patient to the hospital to be admitted.”
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
Still, emergency departments are committed to quality care and keeping wait times low, said Dr. Traci Ryan, medical director at the new Bayfront Health facility.
“The doctors and nurses here are trained the same as the doctors and nurses who work in the emergency room in St. Petersburg,” Ryan said. “If a patient comes here and is having a heart attack, that is something we can stabilize here, and then transfer that patient to the hospital to be admitted.”
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
Urgent care clinics, which are rarely open 24 hours, offer services for more routine and less severe medical issues like diagnosing the flu, wound care, eye or ear infections, and some minor fractures. But patients can sometimes get confused about where to go, in part because free-standing emergency departments and urgent care clinics often have a similar look, typically housed in shopping plazas or along busy commercial stretches.
The cost difference, however, can be substantial. Patients in states like Texas and Colorado have reported receiving bills for thousands of dollars from emergency departments, when they thought they were walking into an urgent care clinic.
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
With emergency departments, “we’re providing an opportunity for people to be seen by a doctor quickly. Consumers are utilizing them, which is evidenced by the fact that we’ve built them, and they’ve come,” said Mike Shultz, CEO of AdventHealth’s west Florida division. “It’s our job now to educate consumers on where they need to go and for the best cost option.”
AdventHealth, formerly known as Florida Hospital, operates two free-standing emergency departments in Tampa Bay — one in central Pasco County and another in Palm Harbor. Two more are under construction in West Shore and Brandon, Shultz said.
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
At most of the departments, the care costs the same as a regular emergency room visit, according to doctors at Bayfront Health’s Pinellas Park facility. That means patients with insurance will be responsible for the usual co-pay, and, like any ER patient, won’t be turned away based on their income.
“Some strategies are different than others but we believe we’re providing a service,” Shultz said. “Some do it to make a lot money. Some do it to expand their geography into areas they’re not in.”
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
But critics say that having too many emergency departments in one community reduces the quality of care because it shrinks the amount of practice that local trauma-trained physicians get when treating complicated injuries. A similar argument was made when Northside Hospital tried to open a trauma center earlier this year, but withdrew after two other area hospitals with trauma centers contested the expansion.
John Couris, the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, said free-standing emergency departments add to the exorbitant cost of health care, and that’s why the hospital has no plans to open any more of them. Tampa General operates one free-standing facility at its Brandon Healthplex, which opened last year.
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“To be part of the solution, we must curb costs and improve access for consumers,” he said. “I also think it’s time to be transparent about costs. People should be able to see what they’re paying for. You can, usually, in an urgent care clinic, but not one of these emergency departments.”
UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville opened two free-standing emergency departments in 2013 and 2016. But Shands CEO Ed Jimenez said the motivation to do so was unique compared to other hospitals.
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“Gainesville is a small town compared to Tampa Bay,” he said. “The hospital is on the edge of the (University of Florida) campus, but the growth of our community has been outward of the city, making the hospital not that accessible to the people around us.”
So Shands opened the two facilities in areas where patients would otherwise have to drive nearly an hour to get to an emergency room.
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“Patients were coming from across the city and from Cedar Key, where there is no hospital or ER,” he said. “But if we did this purely for volume of patients, we would have built onto our existing hospital. This was a way to create access, not to take away from our main ER.”
But Jimenez, like Tampa General’s Couris, doesn’t buy the idea that emergency departments are cutting down on medical costs. He estimates that the cost to treat patients at the new facilities is roughly the same as in the regular emergency room in Gainesville.
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
Whether it’s to offer more choice to consumers or to expand into new regions, experts agree that free-standing emergency departments are here to stay.
“The outcomes tend to be better financially. They don’t have kids and moms and pregnant people, with a variety of diagnosis. And they tend to have easier parking. Infection rates are lower. Overall, they’re just more convenient,” said Wolfson from USF.
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
“The reality is that health care is going this way and isn’t slowing down. Now it’s on your iPhones. And when you need a doctor, you can pick a place best on the appropriate level of care.”
Source: Tampa Bay Times
Kendall Regional Medical Center’s new freestanding Doral emergency room will bring residents of the City of Doral much needed emergency care. The Doral ER is well underway and will be ready to go online in early 2019.
The facility will offer immediate 24-hour emergency care, including pediatrics. The 11-bed ER will be ready to aid any major medical illnesses, heart concerns, respiratory issues, neurological issues, environmental issues, and any minor illnesses or injuries.
With its convenient location, the new Doral ER will serve to provide care and treatment for adults and children of all ages, while offering a shorter wait time than a traditional emergency room. The center will be staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians and nurses who will be ready to provide quality care for each patient that visits the Doral Emergency Room.
Source: Community Newspapers
With its convenient location, the new Doral ER will serve to provide care and treatment for adults and children of all ages, while offering a shorter wait time than a traditional emergency room. The center will be staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians and nurses who will be ready to provide quality care for each patient that visits the Doral Emergency Room.
Source: Community Newspapers
