St. Vincent to build 4 micro-hospitals in central Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - An Indianapolis-based health group plans to open four emergency micro hospitals across central Indiana as part of a strategy to provide care to patients closer to their homes, it announced Monday.

St. Vincent said it will open the hospitals in Noblesville, Avon, Plainfield and the Castleton area on Indianapolis' far northeast side in mid- to late 2017. They will provide 24-hour emergency care for ailments such as dehydration from a gastrointestinal illness or a deep cut, CEO Jonathan Nalli said.

Each hospital will be staffed at all times with an emergency room physician and have ultrasound, X-ray and CT scan capabilities. Each also will have seven outpatient beds and eight in-patient beds, The Indianapolis Star reported (http://indy.st/2bbWyAK ).

"St. Vincent emergency hospitals will provide a critical niche in how patients moving forward are going to receive care," Nalli said. "We're providing an environment that allows patients to receive the right treatment in the right time."

Patients at the emergency hospitals will be seen within 20 minutes of arrival, St. Vincent projects. The health system estimates each emergency hospital will treat about 20 patients in a 24-hour period. Just like traditional emergency rooms, the busiest hours are projected to be 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The cost of care will be comparable to the cost of care at a traditional hospital emergency room. Patients who require more than one night in a micro hospital likely will be transferred to another facility, where they can receive more extensive examination and care, Nalli said.

St. Vincent declined to say how much the new hospitals will cost.

St. Vincent this year reached an agreement with Kroger to provide care at 10 in-store Little Clinics. The health system, which already operates several full-service hospitals in central Indiana, also plans to open three new ambulatory care centers in Crawfordsville, Brownsburg, and Plainfield next year. An additional four emergency hospitals are planned for the future, Nalli said.

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com