Health care providers in Cy-Fair are attempting to address emergency services challenges through new locations and partnerships as the state struggles to keep up with increased demand that has come with population growth.
Hospitals such as Memorial Hermann and North Cypress Medical Center are working to expand into fast-growth suburban areas as the need for emergency care increases. Both institutions have made expansion efforts in the Cy-Fair area a priority.
Urgent care
Designed to offer walk-in, extended-hour medical service for children and adults, urgent care facilities are becoming more and more popular as alternatives to hospital emergency rooms, said Dr. Juliet Breeze, founder of Next Level Urgent Care, a company that offers a cash payment discount option for uninsured patients in addition to accepting all major health insurance providers.
"There is going to be a response to the growing cost of health care," Breeze said. "Traditional ERs still serve a very important purpose, but urgent cares are a more convenient option for certain needs, often available at a cost five to 10 times less. More and more people are seeking them out."
Family Plus Urgent Care opened its first location on FM 529 last August, while Next Level Urgent Care just celebrated the one-year anniversary of its Copperfield location in September. Staff at both facilities have reported strong first years, with residents seeming eager to take advantage of more local providers.
A Cypress-area Urgent Care for Kids is also in the works. The Woodlands-based clinic recently opened four facilities in the Greater Houston area, including a Spring location Aug. 20. CEO Brian White said he is targeting areas that are seeing a rapid influx of families with children, making Cy-Fair a prime candidate.
Emergency care
Although urgent care facilities have proven useful to Cy-Fair residents, they are only capable of providing care in certain situations. Urgent care centers are not intended to be used to treat chronic illnesses or address serious situations, such as heart attack or stroke, said Joanna Ray, CEO of the Urgent Care Association of America.
"Urgent care is really intended more for episodic concerns, such as cold symptoms, sunburn, sprains and fractures," she said.
Fortunately, area hospitals are finding opportunities to expand as well. Cy-Fair Medical Center Hospital opened four urgent and emergency care centers over the past two years to service new residential development throughout the community. The Memorial Hermann Health System has plans to build a new hospital campus with emergency care capabilities in the Fairfield area.
"We intend to develop a medical center with substantial inpatient and outpatient capabilities needed by the rapidly growing Cypress-area communities," said Dan Wolterman, Memorial Hermann's president and CEO.
Dr. Mounang Desai, an emergency medical doctor with the North Cypress Medical Center and president of Cypress Emergency Associates, said the hospital prides itself on our no-wait emergency rooms.
North Cypress Medical Center is developing a new emergency room and 30,000-square-foot community center in Towne Lake with plans to open in May 2015, Desai said. The center will staff board-certified physicians and provide 10 beds, with services ranging from CTA scans to outpatient diagnostic services and radiology.
"The services will be delivered at the same level as they are at the ER in our main hospital," he said. "The ER and professional office buildings will be in one condensed location to really serve the needs of the community."
In addition to hospitals, several standalone emergency rooms have opened recently, including First Choice Emergency Room on Spring Cypress Road in August.
EMS partnerships
To alleviate the challenges that come with an increased demand for emergency services, Methodist Willowbrook Hospital is working closely with the Cypress Creek Emergency Medical System.
Methodist recognized CCEMS in 2014 with two awards for outstanding response time. The department received one award for the delivery of a stroke patient and another for the delivery of a patient with a blocked coronary artery in time to restore blood flow to the heart. The national standard for such performances is just under 90 minutes. CCEMS managed to complete them in 32 minutes and 29 minutes, respectively.
Willowbrook CEO Beryl Ramsey honored the recipeints during National EMS week, saying the existence of a competent EMS is particularly critical in an area with no municipal government to plan and fund the delivery of services.
"These professionals are dedicated to public service and to saving lives each and every day, and it is a privilege to be able to show our appreciation for their hard work and for the integral role they play within our health care system," she said. "The sooner stroke patients receive treatment, the greater the benefit."
