The Green Bay area is getting a micro-hospital soon. Here's what you need to know.
BELLEVUE - The area's first micro-hospital is expected to open in the beginning of April in Bellevue.
Green Bay ER & Hospital, run by Nutex Health Inc., is opening the facility at 2465 Monroe Road. The Houston-based company hopes it will offer a more personal, specialized version of care to patients.
Here are three things to know before the 21,389-square-foot hospital starts taking patients next month.
It's expected to provide 24/7 care for basic needs
The Bellevue facility will have six overnight beds and include an emergency department, imaging, and lab services. There are inpatient and outpatient suites, including pediatric rooms and separate isolation rooms. It will not include an operating room. Meals will be locally catered with snacks available from the facility's kitchen.
As a micro-hospital, the Bellevue facility is developed as a more affordable option that provides local care compared to larger hospitals. It's meant to provide 24/7 emergency care, geared to patients who need basic care such as dehydration, stitches or other illnesses that don't require surgery. Patients can also get orders from physicians and get an MRI or CT scan at the facility.
Depending on care needs in the Green Bay area, the patient numbers might vary but will be at smaller levels than a typical hospital, providing personalized care and shorter wait times in the emergency department.
"We want to start smaller and grow with the community," said Sonja Hansen, the facility administrator. "Whether 10 people come through the day or we have 30, we can meet those needs."
It's run by emergency room doctors
Green Bay ER & Hospital is owned and run by emergency room physicians. Eight ER physicians staff the facility.
The facility will act as a normal ER instead of urgent care. Because they don't offer all levels of treatment or surgery, it cannot treat all medical issues. Patients who require higher levels or more intensive care will be transferred to other facilities. The facility hopes to collaborate will local health care providers to offer procedure rooms where physicians can do further testing if needed on patients.
Because of reduced patient levels and the specialized care, Dr. Amanda Nylund — the chief operating officer — hopes there won't be wait times and doctors have more time to treat patients, including follow-up care.
"If you wait in our waiting room, that will be more of an exception than a norm," Nylund said.
What types of insurance will the micro-hospital accept?
The micro-hospital will accept most private health insurance plans, while Medicare will not be accepted. A list of out-of-pocket pricing will be available on the facility's website.
You will see more local micro-hospitals in the future
Micro-hospitals are part of a broader trend to provide local care. Founded in 2011, Nutex operates 21 micro-hospitals in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Indiana, and it is opening up new locations in Idaho, Ohio and Florida. Nutex Health will also open a micro-hospital in Milwaukee.
More: A micro-hospital is coming to Bellevue. Here's what you need to know.
Froedert Health and ThedaCare announced they were opening micro-hospitals in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac.
Southeastern Wisconsin micro-hospitals include Ascension Wisconsin's facility that opened in Menomonee Falls with Emerus Holdings.
Micro-hospitals aren’t feasible in some states because of their licensing regulations for hospitals, such as requiring a full-time require dietitian on site or having an operating room.
Benita Mathew is a health and county government reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her at bmathew@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay area micro-hospital opening soon. Here's what to know
