“The days of us building 200,000-SF hospitals are over,” proclaims Isaac Palmer, CEO of Christus Health. Next fall, Christus will open the first micro-hospital in Louisiana, a 10,000-sf facility in Shreveport-Bossier with six short-stay inpatient beds. “It’s kind of a souped-up doctor’s office,” says Palmer.
“We’re moving toward micro-hospitals to enhance our integrated delivery network. It’s all about population health and one-stop shopping for consumers,” says Laura Hennum, Chief Strategy Officer at Dignity Health.
Micro-hospitals are acute care facilities that are smaller than the typical acute care hospital. In short, they've licensed hospitals that operate 24/7 in a fraction of the space of traditional acute care hospitals. They're equipped to respond to almost any medical issue, including those requiring critical care. While all micro-hospitals have a core set of services, the sites are also highly customizable, which allows organizations to adapt them to their target markets.
Emerus Holdings Inc. is the nation’s first and largest operator of micro-hospitals. Emerus has served 1 million patients till now and has hospitals in 19 states, these hospitals continue to grow and are becoming a trend in health care.
Many organizations have used micro-hospitals to enter a new market without the significant investment needed for a full-scale hospital. For example, SCL Health in Colorado deployed micro-hospitals as its primary means of moving into the high-growth areas of the Denver metro area. The micro-hospital approach allowed SCL Health to develop a care model that was convenient and accessible, while also expanding inpatient services to neighborhoods where demand would not justify a traditional hospital investment.
How Could Global Microhospitals Market Addresses The COVID-19 Concerns?
What started as an outbreak in China near the end of 2019 has now developed globally. Last week, for the first time since the COVID-19 epidemic started, the number of new cases outside of China was greater than inside the country. By 1 March, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in China was 80,565 (3,015 deaths), and in the rest of the world 14,768 (267 deaths). China has done a great job in controlling COVID-19, and in doing so has bought the rest of the world time to prepare and contain the virus in geographically isolated areas, so far avoiding a pandemic. The World Health Organization's response has also been extraordinary but requires private sector support.
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