OPINION: Proposed South Anchorage ER will save and improve lives

As emergency physicians at Alaska Regional Hospital, we’re proud of the positive impact we have on thousands of Alaskans each year. We’re also excited about the proposed freestanding emergency room, or FSER, project for South Anchorage that would extend our quality care into an area currently lacking nearby emergency services. The comprehensive, hospital-level services delivered at this facility will save and improve lives, which is precisely why so many community members have shown support for the proposal.

The hospital surveyed people from five South Anchorage zip codes, and 74% of those surveyed agreed that having access to a hospital-level emergency care in the area would improve public health. Similarly, the vast majority of speakers at a July 12 public comment session were supportive of the proposed ER — in fact, the only people to speak in opposition were individuals who are affiliated with another health system.

Broadly speaking, our community members understand what we as physicians know all too well: Anchorage, and especially the south side, need better access to emergency care.

Roughly 27,000 ER visits originate annually from South Anchorage residents, but there are currently no emergency facilities available in those communities. We’re fortunate in Anchorage to have great emergency care options — but they’re all north of Tudor Road. This proposal will bring lifesaving care closer to home for tens of thousands of residents from South Anchorage and communities farther south.

Importantly, an ER on the south side could also improve care outcomes up north. Having another option will reduce pressure on Anchorage’s existing emergency rooms and EMS — ambulance — crews. It’s not uncommon to find the hospitals in the U-Med district not accepting ambulance patients because they’re at capacity, or treating patients in holding areas. The objective behind Alaska Regional’s proposal is not to create more ER visits, but to alleviate pressure in the overall health care ecosystem.

The Department of Health sets the threshold for determining health care expansion needs at 1,500 visits per bed per year. Alaska Regional alone is currently seeing 2,400 patients per ER bed per year. The need for more ER beds is apparent and critical.

It’s also important to be honest about what a freestanding ER is — and what it isn’t.

The proposed facility will be a hospital-level emergency room with diagnostic and treatment capabilities that are not found at an urgent care facility. Urgent care locations play an important role in the broader health care ecosystem, but they are not open 24/7, they are not required to treat all patients, they are not necessarily staffed by board-certified physicians and they do not take EMS drop-offs.

While some patients who enter this satellite location will require a higher level of care, the reality is that 94% of patients in a freestanding ER do not require hospitalization. Freestanding ERs are equipped to handle a huge percentage of ER cases, and when they do, it frees up in-hospital ERs so there’s less congestion as they deal with serious traumas and other critical situations.

We are committed to educating our EMS partners on the capabilities of the proposed freestanding ER, as well as the circumstances when it is appropriate to take patients directly to an ER that is physically connected to a full-service hospital. When a transfer to our main campus is necessary, the patient will not pay those transportation costs or a second facility fee.

The proposed ER will be connected to and supported by the capabilities and staff of our award-winning hospital. They’ll have access to consult on-call physicians from other specialties and determine the right course of action. Some have referenced the confusion caused by independent FSERs that exist in other markets and are not tied to a hospital at all, but this facility will be a Joint Commission-accredited department of Alaska Regional.

Simply put, the need for more emergency care in our community is both apparent and critical.

The freestanding ER model works. Even the people who have voiced concerns belong to a parent health system that operates freestanding ERs in other states and proudly promotes their benefits. That health system’s website for a Washington facility promotes freestanding ERs as being “fully equipped to take care of life-threatening illnesses,” with “more efficient treatment and minimal wait times.”

We agree! The proposed ER will save and improve lives, and we’re proud to support it.

We have outlined these points to the Department of Health in our own letters of support for the project, and you can do the same. Through the close of business on Aug. 1, you can share your support for this life-saving proposal by emailing Alexandria.Hicks@alaska.gov.

Please join us in supporting this initiative to make our community healthier and safer.

Jeff Baurick, M.D., Desiree Brooks, M.D., David Cadogan, M.D., Christopher Calvert, M.D., Jack Chan, M.D., Jennifer Dow, M.D., Jeff Graham, M.D., Sean Higgins, M.D., Nancy Kragt, M.D., Blaine Norton, M.D., Sarah Poggi, M.D., David Scordino, M.D., Ryan Starr, M.D., Danielle Stevens, M.D., and Caroline Timmerman, M.D. are board-certified emergency medicine physicians in Anchorage. They are affiliated with Alaska Regional Hospital.

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