Micro-hospitals are a growing trend in healthcare to reach more patients right in their communities, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Montgomery County will soon have one of the 10-bed hospitals with small emergency departments in Gilbertsville.

Micro-hospitals also referred to as neighborhood hospitals are designed to reach patients in areas that can’t accommodate full-size hospitals.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is on schedule to open the Lehigh Valley Hospital – Gilbertsville in the fall of 2024 at Route 100 and Grosser Road.

A medical office building, the Health Center at Gilbertsville, is also being built on the same property.

The healthy system is hoping to expand its reach in an area mostly dominated by Tower Health.

Chester County is also getting a micro-hospital courtesy of ChristianaCare. The Delaware health system is reopening the former Jennersville Hospital in Penn Township as a micro-hospital early next year.

The micro-hospital model allows health systems to provide low-level emergency services at 20% to 25% of the cost of a full-service hospital.

These hospitals typically don’t have operating rooms and don’t staff more costly specialists. For more specialized care, patients are referred to the flagship hospital.

Read more about the growing trend of micro-hospitals in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on MONTCO Today in February 2024.