Mercy Hospital Expansion

[Head]

I heard today, that Mercy plans to build a new wing on the northwestish side that will double their bed count. This is to take place within the next three years.
Any one got any real poop on this?

[Spartan]

Nope, sounds good. Mercy can do whatever they want all the way up by Piedmont..

The medical industry is booming, and will remain so long after the effects of "Obamacare" because what politicians fail to grasp is the huge numbers of retirees we're going to see in the next 5-10 years. They're all gonna need to step it up on their doctor visits, as well..

[Rover]

Yeah...more hospital and medical facilities couldn't be because of a growing and aging population. It is just a democratic ploy to steal our money. All those sick lazy people.

(Sarcasm intended)

[Spartan]

Hell, at least 50% of this country will be on Medicare anyway by the time I am on "Obamacare" or trying to avoid it or whatever...I just don't see the big deal. The other 50% would probably be on Medicaid otherwise, with the way we're being bled dry by private and public forces alike...lol

[Head]

I really started the thread to get a feel for the construction potential and it's effect on my personal economy.
The health care construction business is what pays my bills (and green fees).
There's no sense bringing politics into it, since people believe what their favorite talking head tells them, and a typed line or two on their monitor won't change their mind.

[Laramie]

So that's why we called it ObamaCare?

Whatever you guys do, avoid getting sick; because just remember that all of those physical things in your possession (money, jewels, property, furniture...), you can't take them with you.

Back to expansion, it seems that the only real expansion around here has to do with births and deaths... Notice the OU Hospital complex area construction and all the new funeral businesses coming.

Stay healthy, don't get sick and for God's sake, stay out of the hospitals and funeral homes, make your visits short and brief--especially if you're too old too leave!

[bombermwc]

Doubling the bed count seems a bit excessive. Are they really planning that or is that just a conjecture? They already have several hundred beds and have been renovating wing by wing for years now. I would expect to see another type facility built, and not just more beds...ie cancer treatment, hyperberic, pet, etc. They already have a mobile Pet Scan come by each week. That seems a natural diagnostic facility to include in expansion if you use it that much.

They opened the new NICU the same week my boys were born. That place is awesome and the people are amazing. This is by far, the best care facility in OKC without question. My grandmother was turned away by Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Houston after months of diagnostics (time and money that could have been spent treating). A doctor at Mercy came into the picture and wasn't worried about it at all and he accomplished his task without complication. In fact it was one of the least complication invasive surgeries she's had. And she got to have it locally, and recover locally. If she had ended up in Houston with no close support, I feel like she wouldn't have made it. The care Mercy gave her on this (one of many trips she's had there) just makes me like them even more.

Now if only they weren't on the other side of the universe from my house.

[NikonNurse]

The things people don't look out or don't have opportunity to look at is even though its a 200+ bed hospital...the demand for more beds than that is higher. When those beds are occupied...the procedures don't stop, the emergencies don't stop. Emergency rooms, outpatient units, recovery rooms are holding more and more people in those units because beds aren't available upstairs...

As far as building more beds...they don't build for just what they need now...they look at medical statistics and see that the baby boomers are now the fastest growing population in health care related to chronic illness. They plan for the inflow that is coming.

Specialty centers are stomped in the new health bill...they can't build them or they are severely restricted. No more Oklahoma Spine Hospitals, No more Women Centers, No more heart hospitals, no more cancer hospitals. If they do open they have to be attached to a hospital bureaucracy.

[oneforone]

Contrary to popular belief the specialty centers actually save the consumer and the insurance industry money. They do not have the costly overhead the hosptials have, most of that overhead is created the Emergency Department and it's many patients that do not pay for services. I know the Surgery Center of Oklahoma advertises their prices on their website which is something I think every medical care provider should do. The consumer should be able to price shop services just like they can everything else. Most consumers would probably work at finding the best price for a procedure if it meant they could keep their existing insurance rate or get a discount on future policies.

[Rover]

What in the new legislation stomps out specialty care centers? Can you point it out or is this just sound bite propaganda?

[Larry OKC]

Don't recall the details but it seems there was an article in the Oklahoman to that effect with the new Heart Hospital that opened on south side. Not vouching for the info in the article but seems it has something to do with the Hospital being a for-profit, physician owned (51%, w/the rest owned by a group of hospitals) and Medicare/Medicaid acceptance etc.

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=12278253
Apr 09, 2010

County Commissioner Brian Maughan is one of the plaintiffs. He believes the bill adversely affects the Oklahoma Heart Hospital that is in his district.

"Because this bill would prohibit physician-owned hospitals from accepting Medicare, that would effectively render the hospital out of business before it ever opened its doors," Maughan said.

But, Democrats are calling this a publicity stunt.

[bombermwc]

One intent of this sort of thing would be to help control where hospitals are being built. Take a look around and see how many new hospitals are being built just down the street from other hospitals. It really is a problem that has caused entire health systems to close around the country. Something like an ER can't expand it's business like a traditional brick and mortar. If one opens next door, there just aren't enough patients to go around. And most people want to go to the "new" facility regardless of whether they know if the care is actually better or not. I don't really think it will do that, and is worded poorly though.

I personally feel that a physicians group is often LESS of an impact player than a health group. You can see that example in OK. Integris, for example, can open a hospital anywhere it wants (if it really wants to), and put someone else out of business. BUT, at least they realize they don't need to do that...or take the risk. A physicians group can build wherever they want to, but actually spend less time thinking about it. If they get a bug to do something, the people that get the bug, build the place. It's just the nature of smaller business...fewer brains, less tape before things happen. Sometimes that extra tape prevents things that really shouldn't be done, from happening.

Also, the Medicare/Medicaid reductions have been postponed yet again...thankfully. Unless Congress can get these cuts permanently killed, you will see a rise in health care costs...guaranteed. The facilities and doctors will still want their cut, they'll just pass that amount on to the patient instead of the insurer (ie medicare/medicaid). There are plenty places out there that don't even take Medicare/Medicaid because they can be such a pain to work with. Health Care is still a business and the non-profit facilities are dropping like flies. I'm not a fan of that, but it's happening...and it's BEEN happening for decades now.

[Laramie]

bombermwc:

You appear to be very knowledgeable concerning this thread. I just recently enrolled in Medicare Complete Advantage Plan (Part B, D) and I don't plan to get sick; however, who does these days...

[redrunner]

Has anyone noticed Mercy has recently opened up clinics inside Walmart Supercenter? I think I saw it in Edmond and North OKC.

[Larry OKC]

Saw a Coming Soon sign in the SuperCenter (either Memorial & Penn or Belle Isle)

[bombermwc]

Makes sense, and they wouldn't be the first. Urgent Care centers can be a money maker if they are run correctly. And if you've already got a location that is open 24 hours, with security, etc, why not go for it. I'm a little surprised they'd go into such a small space, but it could take care of countless folks without insurance that have a cold, or some similar ailment. It's cheaper than going to the doctor...lower overhead from staffing with LPN's, PRN's, etc instead of an RN. Sometimes even PA's instead of a doc as well. And they would be employees of Mercy, not some physician's group, so again, strength in numbers...they can keep their per-employee costs down by taking advantage of the economies of scale in their own insurance.