SPECIAL REPORT: Analyzing the rise of urgent care clinics an

look … the signs are everywhere! urgent care centers, free standing emergency centers, hospital- based and hospital- affiliated emergency departments. do you know where to take your child for quick, qualified care without overpaying? we have answers in tonight’s special report … and you’ll see it … only on abc- 7. 10:07 “we had the 10 beds and now we added another 10.” e paso’s home to more than 15 urgent care centers. dr. alan carpenter worked in emergency rooms more than a decade … before opening upper valley urgent care. 00:20 carpenter: “i told my wife let’s open a place that’s for people with minor problems and let them t in and get out and they were starting to open across america so i said let’s do that.” a trade organization says 84%of urgent care patients get in and out within 60 minutes. carpenter says that’s not all. 1:40 carpenter: “the urgent care i going to be one of the most affordable. now your doctor’s office visit is always the most, but it may be a 4 week wait. the urgent care you can come in and be seen when you want to. cost a little more, but not nearly as much as an emergency room.” 00:13 “if they are needing an emergency diagnostics the ct scan and x-ray are right here.” next month dr. bob phelan plans to open his second sun city emergency center in el paso. 2:26 “there is a need for the free-standing emergency room and it serves that need. we are eliminating the wait you have in traditional emergency rooms and you are going to be seen by a doctor fast and it is cheaper.” a 2010 state law allowed free- standing emergency rooms. close to a dozen have opened in el paso … some affiliated with hospitals. 5:17 phelan: “what about the cost? we are expensive like a hospital, but we are cheaper than a hospital. dr. phelan believes they excel by having everything in one place. 4:17 phelan: “you’re not having to go up two flights of stairs, the elevator, around the corner the to ct scanner like a traditional hospital, but your diagnostic computer is right there in the er, your x- ray’s in the er, your labs in the er. all your resources are right here in the emergency room.” stil … in some serious cases … you might ultimately end up at a hospital. 6:23 berumen: “stroke, heart attack, major trauma, needing a surgery like a gall bladder , something as simple as saying i have right upper quadrant pain, turns out to be a gall bladder they are not going to be able to help you at a free-standing standalone. you are going to need to get a surgeon and you’re going to need to go to a hospital.” dr. kennet berumen has a way to determine if you need a hospital er or can visit a free- standing emergency room. 6:01 “if you reall feel you are going to require an admission or require a surgery it’s best to come to a hospital based er or a hospital affiliated er.” 2:45 standup: no where is the proliferation and lack of fear over competition more evident than right here at the corner of loop 375 and edgemere. in the distance is a medpost urgent care center. i’m on the east campus of the hospitals of providence which has its own emergency room then across the street is a neighbors emergency center. and across the highway a sun city emergency center. all within feet of each other.” 5:3 carpenter: “we’re not so much in competion. we actually tend to complement each other. it’s a fair market. it’s a free market. it’s good for the public they have different choices.” providence says there were more than 325- thousand emergency department visits in el paso last year. 9:11 “in our city our size think there is enough work out there for all of us it’s just a matter we want to make sure people are directed to the correct place for their optimal care.” a spokesperson with neighbors emergency center tells me privately owned standalone emergency centers like neighbors, sun city and complete emergency care cannot accept medicare or medicaid because they are not federally recognized. we have a list of which type of facility might be best for you based on your symptoms and the financial impact … on our website … k-v-i-a dot com. just search “emergency rooms” or “speci report” in the top right search bar.