Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Intuitive Health to Open Hybrid ER and Urgent Care Centers in Pacific Northwest

TACOMA, Wash. and SEATTLE, Feb. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Mason Franciscan Health announced today it is partnering with Dallas-based Intuitive Health to bring multiple hybrid emergency room (ER) and urgent care centers to the Puget Sound region over the next four years. Construction on the first location, which will be the first dual ER and urgent care center in Washington state, will begin later this year.

"Our new hybrid ER and urgent care facilities will not only simplify the experience for our patients, ensuring they receive the right level of care, but will help to reduce the overall cost of care, including out-of-pocket expenses," said Ketul J. Patel, CEO, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. "Bringing high-quality emergent and urgent care closer to our patients will also help alleviate some of the strain on our hospitals as we continue to experience increasing emergency department visits."

By offering ER and urgent care under one roof, patients will no longer have to decide what level of care they need prior to arriving at the facility. A patient with an urgent or emergent need can simply present to the facility and a board-certified emergency physician will examine and triage them to the appropriate level of care based on their need. Patients are only billed for the level of services they actually receive, ultimately saving the patient money, time and peace of mind.

"Our dual ER and urgent care model puts the patient at the center of the care experience. These new facilities will expand Virginia Mason Franciscan Health's footprint in the community and increase patient access," said Thom Herrmann, CEO of Intuitive Health. "We combine full-service emergency room expertise and the convenience of urgent care in a single, accessible, retail-sized facility with outstanding concierge-level customer service. By combining emergency and urgent care in the same location, we take away the need for patients to make complicated medical decisions. Just come to us and receive the right care, at the right price, close to home."

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health's hybrid ER/urgent care centers will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, equipped with onsite lab equipment and a radiology suite with X-ray and multi-slice CT scanners.

Studies show that patients in need of care will seek it nearly half of the time at the ER because they are open 24/7, and fill in the gaps when medical appointments are hard to find elsewhere. This is especially true for vulnerable populations. Fully staffed with highly-trained and board-certified emergency physicians, the hybrid ER and urgent care centers will treat both emergent and non-emergent conditions.

About Virginia Mason Franciscan Health
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is an integrated health system serving the Puget Sound region of Washington state, offering access to some of the country's most prestigious experts and hospitals that are internationally known for superior quality. With a team of 18,000 team members, including nearly 5,000 employed physicians and affiliated providers, we unite the brightest health care minds in the region to provide world-class clinical excellence at 11 hospitals and nearly 300 sites of care throughout the Puget Sound area. We are proud to be the home of Bailey-Boushay House, the first skilled-nursing and outpatient chronic care management program in the United States designed specifically to meet the needs of people with HIV/AIDS, and Benaroya Research Institute, which is internationally recognized for autoimmune disease research. We embrace our community's uniquely vibrant, active culture by providing holistic, personalized and patient-centered care. We are committed to caring for the most vulnerable in our communities, including the poor and underserved, providing more than $300 million in community benefit – free, subsidized, and reduced cost health care and programs. Learn more at www.vmfh.org.

ABOUT INTUITIVE HEALTH      
Founded in 2008, Intuitive Health pioneered the combined emergency room and urgent care model. Intuitive Health partners with established health systems nationwide to build, operate and launch retail health care facilities that provide urgent care and emergency room services under one roof. Intuitive Health operates in partnership with leading health systems across the country including in the states of Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Delaware, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas and Washington. Intuitive's patient-centric approach to immediate care has saved payors and patients hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary emergency care spend. The Intuitive Health model increases market share for partnered health care systems by expanding their footprint with conveniently located centers. For more information, please visit IHERUC.com. 

SOURCE Virginia Mason Franciscan Health