Houston is quickly developing so is its health care sector. Houston, just like most major cities in America, has seen a tremendous increase in the number of health facilities and improved infrastructure. One of the main health sector areas that has really grown over the past few years, is the emergency rooms department. These emergency service provision centers are growing in number by day in Houston. In almost every street corner, there is a new medical facility or emergency room offering quicker and more convenient emergency room services to the people of Houston. Today, we want to take a look at the numbers to determine the number of emergency rooms in Houston and reasons why they have grown tremendously in number. So, how many emergency rooms are in Houston?
How many emergency rooms are in Houston?
As of 2014 there were about 20 documented emergency rooms in Houston according to the American Hospital Association. The emergency rooms included 6 stand-alone emergency rooms and 24 hospital emergency rooms. Standalone emergency rooms are the emergency rooms which are not physically attached to a hospital facility. They may be affiliated to certain hospitals or may be individually owned by investors. The hospital emergency rooms are basically the emergency departments in the public and private hospitals in Houston.
From 2014 to date, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of both standalone emergency rooms and hospital emergency departments in Houston. A lot of growth has occurred in the standalone department though because constructing a new hospital altogether is more complicated. Today, there are about 18 new standalone emergency rooms in Houston. These have sprung up in a span of less than 5 years and this is really telling. This therefore means that in Houston today, there are about 40 emergency rooms which are in operation. Majority of these are individually owned.
The number of emergency rooms in Houston begs the question of why so many emergency rooms? What are some of the factors contributing to the tremendous growth of emergency rooms in the area? Here is a look at some of the most important factors that have greatly contributed to the growth of emergency rooms in Houston;
The need for and faster medical services is very high
The people of Houston are in need of high quality, quick and fast medical services. With a population of about 2.6 million people, there is need for more emergency service providers and the growth in emergency rooms seems to be quenching the thirst for convenient medical services. The locals of Houston want medical services to be brought closer to them and they are more than willing to take advantage of the services that have been moved closer to them.
Emergency rooms offer quicker and more convenient services at a fair rate.
The people of Houston have quickly realized that emergency rooms offer convenient and quick medical services at a fair rate. The rates offered in emergency rooms are almost similar to those offered in hospitals. Considering that emergency rooms are open 24/7 and are just around the corner, it is not surprising that the locals are preferring them to the other medical facilities. This increased demand for medical services for emergencies has led to investors and owners expanding their businesses.
Increase in medical emergencies
Owing to the modern lifestyles and general decline in health standards, there has been an increase in the number of reported illnesses and emergencies in Houston. Lifestyle related diseases and complications such diabetes, obesity, heart diseases and many others are on the rise. This means that the demand for emergency medical services is so high in Houston. The few available service providers cannot comfortably handle the number of patients flocking their facilities and this calls for more emergency facilities to be built.
Treatment on the go!
A lot of people in Houston prefer emergency rooms to other medical facilities because emergency rooms offer treatment on the go! This means that there is very little likelihood of getting admitted to the emergency room unless the medical condition is serious. This is convenient for most people in Houston since it does not tamper with their working schedules and can go back to work after receiving the emergency treatment they are after. The increased number of people to these emergency rooms is then interpreted as increased demand by the medical service providers and they will look to increase their businesses further.
Although there are numerous emergency rooms in Houston, only a couple can be trusted to offer high quality services which can match the quality offered at Bellaire emergency room. We are one of the leading if not the leading emergency services provider and offer high quality services at an affordable rate. If you are in Houston and are looking for an emergency room to call home, then look no further than Bellaire Emergency room.