Millions being spent on renovated American Hospitals

Hospital Systems in America are spending millions of Dollars in preparation of the newly introduced Affordable Care Act. Officially launched on the 26th of May, healthcare professional are now expecting an influx of new patients who up to now may not have been able to afford insurance.
Kettering and Premier health networks are two of the largest hospital systems and are currently setting up new free standing emergency departments, expansions and upgrades to their hospitals in Ohio. Roy Chew, president of Kettering Medical Centre say\’s they see it as a way to Handle the “pent up demand of newly insured people.”

\”You have a whole bunch of people who are now insured and are going to be more willing to seek out medical help,\” Chew said. \”If people have put off medical treatment for a while, at some point they\’re going to have to have those issues resolved. The emergency department is oftentimes the front door to that whole process.\”

The Affordable Care Act means thousands of Americans received Health cover by qualifying for expanded Medicaid benefits or by registering in private plans through the ACA\’s health care marketplace.
The benefits of these programmes will no doubt see a rise in emergency hospital visits. Evidence of this has already been see with a rise of 22 % since 2011 with more than 247,000 visits last year.

Raj Soin Medical centre in Beavercreek moved up it\’s development plans in order to meet the huge volume of patients. \”When the hospital opened, there was a big vacuum and huge need for a health-care facility there, and people are flocking to it,\” said Nancy Pook, medical director of the emergency department at Kettering Medical Center. $8.2 million is being spent on the new extension and it\’s development plans are now years ahead of schedule. Pook said: \”Now people have a place where they can go where it doesn\’t take a half an hour or more just to drive to the emergency department, and then wait who knows how long to get in.\”

Free-standing emergency centres are being built to meet the needs of residents outside of urban areas and to provide them with better and faster services. Tom Parker, Premier\’s senior vice president sees these centres as “a critical need for patients whose conditions are urgent but not life threatening.”
The facilities are designed and equipped like regular emergency departments and can treat severe trauma and acute conditions. The difference is they don\’t take patients by ambulance so the attention they get is more immediate.

\”One of the things that patients always tell us is that their satisfaction is very significant in a free-standing ED because the entire treatment experience is more patient friendly,\” he said. \”From the moment you pull in and park, it\’s a shorter distance to walk, it\’s easier to navigate (than a big hospital) and you have shorter wait times.\”
Parker went on to say that Emergency departments take in fifty percent of all hospital admissions and the new care act will simply add to this pressure. The only solution is to constantly upgrade and expand medical facilities to meet the ever expanding needs.