Three Houston physicians have created a 24-hour freestanding emergency care facility with all the services of a hospital emergency department but at a fraction of the wait, reports the Houston Business Journal. When the $9 million Emergency Health Centre at Willowbrook opens in March, patients will receive a promise that they will be seen by a physician within 30 minutes and that they will stay in the facility no longer than 90 minutes. Patients can also preregister at the facility to save time, so that a swipe of a card can instantly deliver a medical history and insurance information.
Eight emergency physicians, four nurse practitioners, a radiologist, and a lab director will staff the facility, which is expected to treat 60 to 90 patients a day. Unlike most of the other 20 freestanding emergency facilities that will populate the Houston area in the next few months, Emergency Health Centre distinguishes itself by keeping the same hours that hospital EDs do. The facility, however, will not accept Medicare patients, and it is positioning itself as an upscale emergency care center with valet parking and gourmet coffee. The physicians say they have plans to open as many as 20 more centers in the next three years if the model is successful.
