If you have recently driven through Central Florida, you may have noticed a growing trend: stand-alone emergency rooms popping up seemingly everywhere, sometimes less than a mile from existing hospitals.
WESH 2 News wanted to find out why and went looking for answers.
“When an emergency happens, time is muscle,” says Shawn Molsberger of Orlando Health.
Molsberger is the senior vice president of Orlando Health’s North Florida Region and president of Orlando Health Lake Mary Hospital.
He says proximity to care can be the difference between life and death, especially in cases involving heart attacks, strokes or sepsis.
Now, residents across Central Florida have a closer emergency medicine resource with a new stand-alone emergency facility.
Stand-alone ERs are open 24/7 and all year-round.
They offer advanced diagnostics like CT, or computerized tomography, scans, X-rays, and potentially lifesaving medications.
Hospital officials tell WESH 2 that they are a vital tool to keep pace with Central Florida’s explosive population growth.
Doug Harcombe of AdventHealth explains, “We’re just able to help take care of some of those emergency needs in a quicker, easier, more convenient way.”
Harcombe is the CEO of AdventHealth Lake Nona and the Central Florida Division South Market.
Central Florida has three major hospital systems: Orlando Health, HCA Florida Healthcare and AdventHealth.
They currently operate 26 stand-alone emergency rooms: 12 by HCA Florida Healthcare, nine by AdventHealth, and five by Orlando Health.
Hospital officials break down the difference between freestanding emergency rooms and urgent cares.
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Freestanding emergency rooms
are like a hospital ER, and are for potentially life-threatening emergency healthcare needs such as serious injuries, heart attacks and stroke.
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Urgent care facilities
are for less serious injuries and illnesses such as minor burns, flu symptoms, ear infections, minor cuts, fevers and headaches. - If you are seriously hurt or experiencing severe illness that needs immediate attention, always call 911.
Dr. Jonathan Ortiz from HCA Florida Healthcare notes, “The growth of the population is exceeding the demand for health care. So, we’re targeting these areas that are demonstrating a need for emergency medicine on a local basis.”
Ortiz is the associate medical director of freestanding emergency departments for HCA Florida Osceola Hospital.
However, the recent boom is not just population growth.
Harcombe from AdventHealth also points to increased tourism and conventions as key drivers of this expansion.
Another reason behind the boom dates back to 2019, when Florida repealed the “Certificate of Need” requirement. Previously, hospitals had to obtain state approval to build new facilities — a major regulatory hurdle.
“These were the cards they were dealt, and they’ve played the hand very well,” says Dr. Joseph Torres, medical director at Florida Sports and Family Health Center. “The (CON) went away, now I can open up a hospital anywhere I want.”
Torres believes there is more than just patient care driving this trend — there’s profit.
“These are money makers,” he says. “That stand-alone ER feeds the big animal — the main hospital.”
However, he warns that this convenience might cost patients more. “The charge for an ER is more than an urgent care,” he explains.
With Central Florida’s population and tourism continuing to grow, hospital systems aren’t slowing down. More freestanding ERs are in the works.
“As health care leaders, it’s our job not to be behind the curve, but ahead of it,” Molsberger adds.
So, the next time you drive by a brand-new emergency room, hospital officials say that it’s part of a bigger strategy — one aimed at quicker care, broader reach, and a stronger presence in one of the nation’s fastest-growing regions.
“With having the three major health systems that are in this community, and we’re looking at an opportunity of a fast-growing community,” said Harcombe.
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Stand-alone emergency rooms boom in Central Florida
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