Freestanding ED’s Continue to Prove A Popular Option for Health System Growth
As freestanding ED’s (FSED) continue to grow in popularity with health systems, Meadows & Ohly (M&O) has leveraged nearly 50 years of healthcare strategy and real estate experience to help our clients deliver state-of-the-art emergency departments both on-time and under budget.
A number of factors are driving growth in FSEDs including:
Patient preference for more access points, in terms of location and wait times
Shifting demographics nationally and within metro areas
Changes in regulatory (e.g., certificate of need) and reimbursement (e.g., ambulatory rate structure) landscapes, impacting some areas more than others
FSEDs are typically characterized as having:
Convenient locations in growing population centers
On average, shorter wait times than traditional hospital-based ERs
Over 90% operate 24/7
Typically, staffed with board-certified emergency medicine physicians
Facilities of 5,000 - 20,000 SF, with on-site imaging and lab services
At M&O, we have expertise not only in the real estate development of FSEDs, but also in assessing the strategic success of these ventures by understanding:
Healthcare markets most likely for FSED success, including demographics, location and competition
FSED utilization based on population age and ED visit severity levels
Volume and financial modeling based on utilization rates, reimbursement rates and staffing models
Interplay between FSED, hospital ERs, urgent care centers, walk-in clinics and other access points
