Memorial Hermann Katy and Texas Children's Hospital West have both targeted Katy as a location for urgent care clinics. Texas Children's opened a pediatric urgent care office at 9727 Spring Green Blvd. in May, while Memorial Hermann announced its plans in July to open a Convenient Care Center at Grand Parkway and FM 1093 in the spring of 2015.
The Texas Children's urgent care center provides after-hours pediatric care to children who need immediate care but do not need an emergency room. Lisa Helfman, director of real estate for Texas Children's Hospital said the cost of urgent care is much lower than that of an emergency room, and patients can generally be seen more quickly, and that Texas Children's Urgent Care's goal is to have patients seen and discharged within 45 minutes of check-in.
"This is a more cost-effective and appropriate way to deal with a lot of after-hours issues that come up with children that don't need an emergency room," Helfman said. "It's another level of care that we've put out in the community to better serve our patients."
The urgent care center is located near the West Campus of Texas Children's, so any patients who come in that do end up needing emergency care or need to be admitted to a hospital can be easily and quickly transferred.
The Cinco Ranch location was the first Texas Children's Urgent Care. A second location opened in Memorial City in July. Helfman said when deciding where to open urgent care centers, Texas Children's looks at the number of pediatricians practicing in an area.
"Pediatric practices show need—we come to the community where it needs it," Helfman said. "It's an extension of care in people's backyards."
Helfman said the clinic's location at a busy intersection make it both highly visible and highly accessible to patients.
Memorial Hermann's Convenient Care Center will also offer after-hours care, along with primary care services. The Katy location will be Memorial Hermann's third convenient care center and the only one in west Houston. Memorial Hermann has convenient care centers open in Pearland and Summer Creek, near Humble.
When complete, the center will combine urgent and emergency care with primary, preventive and rehabilitative care. Services include pediatric and adult primary care, sports and rehabilitation medicine, mammography screenings, on-site lab and imaging, walk-in urgent care with extended night and weekend hours and a 24-hour emergency room. Patients who need additional emergency care can be transported to one of the area Memorial Hermann hospitals, said Scott Barbe, outgoing CEO of Memorial Hermann Katy.
"Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Centers offer a 'one stop shop' for an array of services, anchored by a 24/7 emergency department staffed by Board Certified Emergency Physicians," Barbe said. "In addition, the Memorial Hermann Medical Group provides scheduled or walk-in primary care physician services at the same site."
