TULSA MEN/10’MM-HOSPITAL BREAK-EVEN ANALYSIS
TULSA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL (TIVIH), an acute care hospital with 300 beds and 160 staff physicians, is one of 75 hospitals owned and operated by Health Services of America, a for-profit, publicly owned company. Although there are nine other acute care hospitals serving the same general population, TMH historically has been highly prof-itable because of its well-appointed facilities, its fine medical staff, its reputation for quality care, and the amount of individual attention it gives to its patients. In addition to inpatient services, TMH operates an emergency department within the hospital complex and a stand-alone urgent care center located across the street from the area’s major shop-ping mall, about two miles from the hospital. • According to a Wall Street journal article, urgent care centers are increasingly visited by patients who need .immediate treatment for an illness, such as the flu or a sore throat, or an injury, such as a nail-gun wound. Urgent care centers are distinguished from similar types of ambulatory healthcare providers, such as emergency departments and retail clinics, by the scope of illnesses treated and the presence of on-site facilities. These centers help mitigate the problems of primary care physician shortages and already crowded (and typically very expensive) emergency departments. Urgent care centers, notes the Wall Street Journal article, are staffed by physicians, offer short wait times, and charge between $60 and $200 per procedure. Furthermore, no appointments are necessary and evening and weekend hours are frequently available. Finally, many centers offer discounts to the uninsured, and for those with coverage, copayments are
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