New microhospital opens in Texas, more expected to follow

Valley Baptist Health System is the latest organization to join a growing trend, opening a microhospital, in Weslaco, Texas. Facilities known as microhospitals are fast becoming the answer to getting basic ambulatory care services to more people, while avoiding the costs associated with constructing large buildings. Microhospitals are springing up in sprawling areas that are home to large populations of people who might not need (or have access to) care at a larger metropolitan hospital but still need inpatient services that an urgent care or walk-in clinic can’t provide.

Valley Baptist’s new facility includes a 14-bed emergency department, outpatient laboratory services, and even a procedure room. The goal of the new facility is to provide quick, convenient care to low-acute patients, while more complex cases will still be directed to larger hospitals in the area. The microhospital will be staffed by nurses, physicians, and technicians.  

Ronda Lewis, an administrator at the microhospital, explains its significance: “We understand that travel not only financially, but emotionally, can be a burden on the families. So bringing that care, that treatment, to the community alleviates that and allows them to, in my mind, actually recover a lot quicker.”

Valley Baptist plans to open additional microhospitals throughout the state. To learn more about how microhospitals are helping to provide increased care while reducing costs, check out this article from the October 2019  issue of Medical Staff Briefing.