Riverview Health has announced plans to build four new freestanding emergency departments with urgent care services all under one roof – the first of their kind in the Indianapolis area.
The new centers will be located in north Carmel, west Carmel, Fishers and the Nora area of Indianapolis. Construction will begin this spring with plans for opening all four locations in 2019.
Warren
“As the area continues to grow, the demand for urgent and emergency services has too,” said Seth Warren, Riverview Health president and CEO. “Often when unplanned medical needs arise, there’s the question of whether or not to go to the emergency room. With the emergency and urgent care combination, patients will have a single convenient access point close to home and be treated accordingly with the same high-quality healthcare of our full-service hospital in Noblesville.”
The retail model will focus on customer service and treating patients quickly. That means no complicated or lengthy paperwork, no glass partitions and a treatment process that keeps patients moving. The ER services will be available 24/7, while the Urgent Care hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. An ER physician, regardless of the level of service needed, will see all patients. However, they will only be billed for the level of care that was provided.
“Many visits to the emergency department could be treated in an urgent care setting at a lower cost,” Warren said. “This model eliminates that discrepancy by billing only for the level of care needed, which has the potential to save money for patients, employers and communities.”
These retail-centric facilities will each be approximately 10,000 square feet and will be developed under the guidance of commercial real estate firm Equity and local construction firm Meyer Najem.
Riverview Health continues to expand its footprint. With its main campus in Noblesville and a new hospital in Westfield set to open this spring, Riverview Health also has 25 physician practices located throughout Hamilton County.
“Continuing to meet the growing healthcare needs of this community is a top priority,” Warren said. “We’re expanding to meet the need in Westfield and now in these other locations. Our practices have also continued to grow, and we’re expanding our team of doctors to meet this need in several of our medical offices in 2018 and beyond.”
This project is in conjunction with Intuitive Health, an organization located in North Texas that has worked with established health systems throughout the nation to build and manage retail health facilities that specialize in full-service emergency and urgent care services in a licensed hospital outpatient department.
About Riverview Health
Riverview Health is comprised of a full-service, 156-bed hospital and 25 primary, immediate and specialty care facilities located throughout Hamilton County. Together, they provide comprehensive healthcare services in 35 medical specialties and have frequently been recognized for our clinical and service excellence. For more information, visit riverview.org.