PORT ST. LUCIE — Patients wanting to try out Martin Memorial’s freestanding emergency department in St. Lucie West should find their own ride.

St. Lucie County fire and rescue crews are bypassing the freestanding facility in favor of emergency departments at hospitals such as St. Lucie Medical Center and Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute.

“We’re evaluating what type of patients we will transport to that facility,” St. Lucie County Fire Chief Ron Parrish said. “We want to make sure the citizens of the community are going to get the best care in the most timely manner.”

Martin Memorial Health Systems spent $6 million renovating the existing urgent care center on St. Lucie West Boulevard in order to provide emergency care to western Port St. Lucie. Officials knew when they opened the emergency department Sept. 1 that fire and rescue crews would not bring patients to the facility, but are hopeful to resolve the issue, Martin Memorial spokesman Scott Samples said.

“We know the freestanding concept is new to this area and we’re working with (the fire district),” Samples said. “We’re fully expecting that we’ll start seeing some ambulance transports in the near future.”

Florida has a handful freestanding emergency departments and local fire and rescue districts choose to use the facilities on a case-by-case basis. Nationally, hospitals have used freestanding emergency departments to deal with crowding and provide care to sprawling suburbs.

But critics worry the freestanding departments could delay care because patients must be transferred to other hospitals.

Parrish said for now, patients will be taken to hospitals where they can be admitted if necessary.

Martin Memorial officials touted the freestanding emergency department as care for western Port St. Lucie residents until they could build a full, 80-bed hospital in Tradition. State health officials have given preliminary approval to the Tradition hospital, but legal challenges from the HCA Inc.-owned hospitals in St. Lucie County mean it could be years before the western facility is built.

Port St. Lucie City Council members have supported Martin Memorial’s expansion efforts. But Councilman Christopher Cooper, who also is a firefighter, said he understood Parrish’s wanting to work through any concerns and thought the emergency department still could benefit the community.

“Perhaps this facility can take the minor injuries off the hands of the crews and the other emergency rooms,” Cooper said. “It has tons of potential.”

The 12-bed St. Lucie West emergency department treated 380 people in its first full week of operations.

Hillary Copsey

Tags: best, chief, communication, critical, emergency, fire, firefighter, firefighters, fires, Florida, hand, HCA, Health, hospital, medical, national, Tradition, transportation

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