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AdventHealth Kissimmee Plans $84M Patient Tower Expansion
AdventHealth once again will add on to its Kissimmee campus to meet the area’s growing health care needs.
The Altamonte Springs-based health care provider is set to build an $84 million, 123,000-square-foot expansion on top of its existing three-story patient tower. The three-story project, expected to be completed by fall 2021,will add 80 beds to AdventHealth Kissimmee and bring its total bed county to 240.
There will be 40 beds each on the fifth and sixth floors of the expansion, while the fourth floor will be held as shell space and can accommodate an additional 40 beds in the future, AdventHealth spokesman David Breen told Orlando Business Journal.
Expanding the hospital is needed, as it had an increased patient count in 2018 with more than 9,000 admissions and 67,000 emergency room visits. That’s up from 8,274 and 62,919 respectively for those totals in 2017, according to OBJ research.
“This investment illustrates our commitment to the health of the Kissimmee community,” AdventHealth Kissimmee CEO Sheila Rankin said in a prepared statement. “We are dedicated to providing whole-person care close to home for the growing population of Osceola County in the years to come.”
Preliminary elevator shaft work for the project already has begun, with work on the future floors expected to begin this fall. Nashville, Tennessee-based ESa is the architect on the project, and Birmingham, Alabama-based Brasfield & Gorrie L.L.C. is the general contractor.
The project is expected to create 500 construction jobs and a yet-to-be determined amount of health care positions, according to the company.
AdventHealth Kissimmee opened an expanded emergency department in 2014, along with the original 80-bed patient tower in July 2015. The hospital is currently in progress on a $26 million, 27,000-square-foot addition of four surgical rooms with state-of-the-art lighting, robotic services, camera and recording capabilities, set to be completed in January 2020.
Meanwhile, here are some more AdventHealth hospitals being built out or growing inpatient facilities in Central Florida:
• AdventHealth Winter Garden: A $200 million, 300,000-square-foot, seven-story 100-bed patient tower at 2000 Fowler Grove Blvd. Project should be completed in 2021.
• AdventHealth Celebration: $88 million, five-story patient tower at 400 Celebration Place in Celebration. Project initially will have 76 beds and includes shell space for up to 84 more beds at buildout. Completion expected in early 2020.
• AdventHealth Fish Memorial: $100 million, four-story expansion at 1055 Saxon Blvd. in Volusia County’s Orange City. Project will add 50 beds along with an expanded emergency department. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
Founded in 1908, the $3.36 billion nonprofit AdventHealth system headed up by CEO Daryl Tol provided $45.3 million in uncompensated health care in 2016. In addition to the Kissimmee campus, its holdings include:
• 10 local hospitals in downtown Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Winter Park, east Orlando, Celebration, Winter Garden, Longwood and Apopka
• 24 Centra Care (urgent care) centers and 2 Kids Urgent Care centers
• 24 imaging and diagnostic centers
• 15 Lab Care locations
• 18 Sports Medicine & Rehab locations
• 2,500-plus doctors in 123 medical specialties
Source: OBJ
AdventHealth To Expand Downtown Emergency Department
AdventHealth has plans to further expand on its main downtown Orlando hospital campus with additional emergency department space.
The health care provider filed documents to build a 45,000-square-foot expansion of the Ginsburg Tower’s emergency department. The expansion will include 21 adult emergency bays, a resuscitation room and three isolation rooms, AdventHealth spokesman David Breen told Orlando Business Journal.
The cost of the project and a construction timeline were not immediately available.
The move follows the health care provider announcing a 13,200-square-foot expansion to its cardiovascular institute back in October. That expansion, dubbed the Center for Living, includes a genomic center focused on cardiovascular issues. Construction is expected to start in first-quarter 2019 and be completed by the end of 2020.
The Alan Ginsburg Family Foundation donated $3 million for the facility. The foundation, named after area real estate developer Alan Ginsburg, previously donated $20 million in 2007 toward the $255 million, 440-bed Ginsburg Tower.
AdventHealth’s parent company, Adventist Health System, is the second-largest employer in the area with more than 83,000 employees for 2018. The health care system operates nearly 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites across the U.S. in almost a dozen states and serves more than 5 million patients each year.
Founded in 1908, the $3.36 billion nonprofit AdventHealth’s holdings in the area include:
- 10 local hospitals in downtown Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Winter Park, east Orlando, Celebration, Kissimmee, Longwood and Apopka
- The freestanding emergency room in Winter Garden, which now has a 72,000-square-foot, three-story medical office building and plans to build a 100-bed inpatient hospital tower there.
- 24 Centra Care (urgent care) centers and 2 Kids Urgent Care centers
- 24 imaging and diagnostic centers
- 15 Lab Care locations
- 18 Sports Medicine & Rehab locations2,500-plus doctors in 123 medical specialties
Source: OBJ
No Hospital, Just An Emergency ‘Department’-They’re Popping Up All Over Florida
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
Metro Orlando To Get 3 New Hospitals
Orlando Health and HCA Healthcare inc. will build a total of three new Central Florida hospitals, thanks to getting approval Dec. 7 from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA (NYSE: HCA) and Orlando Health got the greenlight for their requested new facilities from the August 2018 batching cycle. The approvals are required before any new hospitals can be built.
The general acute-care hospital projects that got the thumbs up are:
• The 100-bed Orlando Health Lake Mary Hospital, planned for a 30-acre site at 380 Rinehart Road in Lake Mary
• The 50-bed Orlando Health Randal Park Hospital slated for 9349 Randal Park Blvd. in southeast Orlando
• The 40-bed Central Florida Regional Hospital International Parkway (CFRHIP) to be built at 4525 International Parkway in Sanford
It’s unknown if competitor Florida Hospital, soon to be known as AdventHealth, will appeal these approvals. Florida Hospital executives couldn’t be reached for comment.
Orlando Health, a $3.4 billion nonprofit health care system, on June 18 paid roughly $9.9 million for 15.13 acres of vacant land at the northeast corner of Dowden Road and Randal Park Boulevard for the Randal Park facility. That new hospital will allow the nonprofit to operate in the growing community near Lake Nona, and will reduce crowding at Orlando Regional Medical Center, Orlando Health said in its proposal.
Phase 1 of the project, which would include a freestanding emergency room and outpatient medical office, would start in 2019 and finish in 2020. Phase 2 would have operations begin in 2022. A third phase would allow expansion of medical office capabilities and inpatient facilities, but a timeline wasn’t included.
Orlando Health also is moving forward on its Rinehart Road project, the site of its $42 million, 30-acre freestanding emergency room and medical pavilion now under construction. This new $140 million to $160 million hospital includes 100 acute care beds being delicensed from South Seminole Hospital, Orlando Health spokesman Desmond Jordon told Orlando Business Journal. Renovating the existing South Seminole campus would have cost $310 million to $320 million, and would cause disruption to the services at the facility, Orlando Health said in its proposal.
Phase 1 of the Rinehart Road project is the medical pavilion, which should be completed in August 2019, and operations for Phase 2 are slated to begin in 2022. The second $360 million phase of the hospital will include the patient bed tower, and other health and wellness concepts. Once complete, Orlando Health’s Lake Mary campus will join a growing medical building hub in the area, informally referred to as the Rinehart Medical Corridor.
Meanwhile, HCA’s project will include a new adult psychiatric program with a minimum of 14 beds, according to the proposal. Central Florida Regional Hospital will relocate 21 of its medical/surgical beds and all of its 19 obstetrics beds to the proposed 40-bed facility. The health care provider does not list a timeline nor a projected construction cost for the facility.
HCA is one of the largest, private health systems in Florida, featuring 50 hospitals across the state and 31 surgery centers. Its local facilities are: Central Florida Regional Hospital, Oviedo Medical Center, Osceola Regional Medical Center and Poinciana Medical Center. It also is partnering with the University of Central Florida on the $175 million UCF Lake Nona Medical Center, which will be a teaching hospital slated to open in fall 2020.
Source: OBJ
Florida Hospital Rebrand Drives Daytona Plans
As part of a rebranding next year, major Daytona International Speedway sponsor Florida Hospital is buying naming rights to the track’s Speedweeks period and redesigning its “injector” entrance.
The move will include the company soon to be known as AdventHealth buying the presented-by asset to the 2019 season-opening Daytona Speedweeks, which includes the Daytona 500. The deal also includes a multimillion-dollar effort to transform Florida Hospital’s entrance to fit the new AdventHealth brand, and it could be a precursor for additional spending in NASCAR by the Adventist Health System parent company.
Florida Hospital is changing its name to AdventHealth at the turn of the calendar year, and the rebranding effort at Daytona will be completed by the 61st running of the 500 on Feb. 17.
“We wanted to make sure folks knew we were changing as an organization — and with our current existing partnership already in place, we decided we would enhance that to make it more prominent as we continue to grow,” said David Ottati, president and CEO of Adventist Health System’s Central Florida Division-North Region.
The company-wide rebrand involves nearly 50 hospitals across nine states. Adventist works with Aquarius Sports & Entertainment on its motorsports marketing.
Adventist Health System was one of five companies to buy one of the track’s branded injector entrances designed as part of Daytona’s $400 million renovation completed in early 2016. Daytona parent company International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq: ISCA) sold the branded entrances for $2 million to $2.5 million annually over 10- to 15-year terms. Ottati said the company will spend $1 million to $2 million to rebrand its presence at the track, which includes its 20,000-square-foot entrance.
The presented-by asset that AdventHealth is buying from the track is for multiple years. The price was not disclosed.
As its rebrand begins rolling out, AdventHealth is open to expanding its presence not only with ISC but also with rival track operator Speedway Motorsports Inc. The company already has a team sponsorship with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“The really exciting opportunity for us with this national rebrand is in almost every one of our significant AdventHealth markets, there is a racetrack — either ISC or SMI,” said Anna Donaldson, AdventHealth’s director of sports marketing. “There’s definitely a possibility of how we grow our relationships within motorsports, whether with ISC, SMI or Chip Ganassi Racing; we’re definitely exploring those opportunities.”
Source: OBJ
Florida Hospital is changing its name to AdventHealth at the turn of the calendar year, and the rebranding effort at Daytona will be completed by the 61st running of the 500 on Feb. 17.
“We wanted to make sure folks knew we were changing as an organization — and with our current existing partnership already in place, we decided we would enhance that to make it more prominent as we continue to grow,” said David Ottati, president and CEO of Adventist Health System’s Central Florida Division-North Region.
The company-wide rebrand involves nearly 50 hospitals across nine states. Adventist works with Aquarius Sports & Entertainment on its motorsports marketing.
Adventist Health System was one of five companies to buy one of the track’s branded injector entrances designed as part of Daytona’s $400 million renovation completed in early 2016. Daytona parent company International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq: ISCA) sold the branded entrances for $2 million to $2.5 million annually over 10- to 15-year terms. Ottati said the company will spend $1 million to $2 million to rebrand its presence at the track, which includes its 20,000-square-foot entrance.
The presented-by asset that AdventHealth is buying from the track is for multiple years. The price was not disclosed.
As its rebrand begins rolling out, AdventHealth is open to expanding its presence not only with ISC but also with rival track operator Speedway Motorsports Inc. The company already has a team sponsorship with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“The really exciting opportunity for us with this national rebrand is in almost every one of our significant AdventHealth markets, there is a racetrack — either ISC or SMI,” said Anna Donaldson, AdventHealth’s director of sports marketing. “There’s definitely a possibility of how we grow our relationships within motorsports, whether with ISC, SMI or Chip Ganassi Racing; we’re definitely exploring those opportunities.”
Source: OBJ
The company-wide rebrand involves nearly 50 hospitals across nine states. Adventist works with Aquarius Sports & Entertainment on its motorsports marketing.
Adventist Health System was one of five companies to buy one of the track’s branded injector entrances designed as part of Daytona’s $400 million renovation completed in early 2016. Daytona parent company International Speedway Corp. (Nasdaq: ISCA) sold the branded entrances for $2 million to $2.5 million annually over 10- to 15-year terms. Ottati said the company will spend $1 million to $2 million to rebrand its presence at the track, which includes its 20,000-square-foot entrance.
The presented-by asset that AdventHealth is buying from the track is for multiple years. The price was not disclosed.
As its rebrand begins rolling out, AdventHealth is open to expanding its presence not only with ISC but also with rival track operator Speedway Motorsports Inc. The company already has a team sponsorship with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“The really exciting opportunity for us with this national rebrand is in almost every one of our significant AdventHealth markets, there is a racetrack — either ISC or SMI,” said Anna Donaldson, AdventHealth’s director of sports marketing. “There’s definitely a possibility of how we grow our relationships within motorsports, whether with ISC, SMI or Chip Ganassi Racing; we’re definitely exploring those opportunities.”
Source: OBJ
The presented-by asset that AdventHealth is buying from the track is for multiple years. The price was not disclosed.
As its rebrand begins rolling out, AdventHealth is open to expanding its presence not only with ISC but also with rival track operator Speedway Motorsports Inc. The company already has a team sponsorship with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“The really exciting opportunity for us with this national rebrand is in almost every one of our significant AdventHealth markets, there is a racetrack — either ISC or SMI,” said Anna Donaldson, AdventHealth’s director of sports marketing. “There’s definitely a possibility of how we grow our relationships within motorsports, whether with ISC, SMI or Chip Ganassi Racing; we’re definitely exploring those opportunities.”
Source: OBJ
“The really exciting opportunity for us with this national rebrand is in almost every one of our significant AdventHealth markets, there is a racetrack — either ISC or SMI,” said Anna Donaldson, AdventHealth’s director of sports marketing. “There’s definitely a possibility of how we grow our relationships within motorsports, whether with ISC, SMI or Chip Ganassi Racing; we’re definitely exploring those opportunities.”
Source: OBJ
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