Hospital System Buys Five Freestanding Texas ERs

Jan. 12--CHI St. Luke's Health has acquired five independent, freestanding emergency-room centers, bringing them into the fold of the expanding hospital system, company officials said Monday.

The purchase of five PhysiciansER centers, most of them in Houston's northern suburbs, brings the total of standalone 24-hour emergency rooms affiliated with the hospital to eight, officials said.

The new locations in Conroe, Huntsville, Montgomery, North Shore and The Woodlands have already been renamed to reflect the St. Luke's brand, according to the hospital system's website. The purchase price was not disclosed.

The number of freestanding emergency centers has exploded in recent years, popping up across the country and often tucked into high-end suburban shopping areas with the promise of easier access and shorter wait times for patients than traditional emergency rooms.

A decade or so ago, such centers were virtually nonexistent. In the Houston area, considered a national epicenter for the movement, state licensing data show there now are 75, with 10 more being built.

Statewide there are 198 currently open, with 36 more being built, the data show.

"We're pretty saturated," acknowledged Dr. Kelly Larkin, an emergency medicine specialist who founded the first PhysiciansER center in 2012.

In 2009, Texas legislators passed a law establishing licensing regulations that, in turn, allowed the proliferation.

With the sudden growth has come some criticism.

While the centers may look like urgent-care clinics, their shopping-center cousins, the freestanding emergency rooms often carry higher costs because they have the same steeper co-pays and deductibles associated with visits to hospital emergency rooms, said Jane Bolin, professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health.

She also worries that because many of physicians affiliated with the freestanding centers have an ownership stake, they might be more reluctant to police themselves if problems arise.

"If I were to have a choice in where to take my husband or my daughters in a possible medical emergency, I would choose the ER on-site at a hospital rather than a freestanding center," she said. "I might need that surgical service and waste precious time with travel time and possible traffic tie-ups."

While Larkin does not find such criticisms valid, she thinks linking with an established name such as CHI St. Luke's will mitigate concerns.

She said being part of a larger health system gives providers more clout when negotiating rates and network access with insurance companies, which can bring down costs to patients. It also streamlines any hospital admissions that may be needed for a seriously ill or injured patient who comes in to one of the centers.

Having a recognized medical name attached can help quiet any fears that a freestanding emergency room may not offer the same level of care, she said.

"A lot of the problems and bad press for freestandings does get alleviated by being affiliated with a hospital," Larkin said.

The purchase of the five existing centers leaves one PhysiciansER center remaining and another one still under construction. Larkin said those centers will eventually become part of the CHI St. Luke's system.

From the hospital's perspective, this acquisition helps in expanding its footprint in the region.

"By offering additional choices for our patients and streamlined admittance to our hospitals if needed, we're putting patient access and convenience at the forefront -- which supports our mission perfectly," Michael Covert, CEO of CHI St. Luke's Health, said in a statement sent Monday to the Chronicle.

The hospital previously operated three freestanding centers under its name, one near the Texas Medical Center, one in the Galleria area and one in Pearland.

Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives acquired St. Luke's Episcopal Health System in 2013 in a sweeping $2 billion deal. The system now operates six hospitals in the region, with a seventh one scheduled to open this month in Springwoods Village.

Copyright 2016 - Houston Chronicle