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E-mail This StoryStomach pain can cause more than cramps and discomfort, as victims may experience mental distress trying to determine if they’re experiencing something as severe as appendicitis or as routine as a simple stomachache.
The situation can lead to financial pain if victims go to the emergency room for a minor problem, and even worse problems may result if they ignore the problem altogether. The three founding doctors of Legacy ER, which opens Monday, hope to minimize this scenario through their innovative health-care facility at 9205 Legacy Drive.
Legacy ER will offer emergency room and urgent care treatment daily between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Patients who may not know whether to seek help at a hospital or less critical facility are likely to find the treatment they need at Legacy ER.
“If you guess wrong and go to the wrong place first you waste more time, and it costs you extra in co-pays and fees,” co-founder Jay Woody, M.D., said.
Patients who need treatment at a hospital will be transported to the hospital without having to wait through the emergency room, as Legacy ER has worked out a deal with several hospital physicians to take patients directly.
Woody said the system has the potential to get patients admitted to the hospital faster than actually going to the hospital in the first place.
The doctors at Legacy ER said that they value treating patients quickly, and have designed a plan to call in extra health-care workers on busy days. Woody said that the company’s small size will cut down on the bureaucracy and paperwork, factors that contribute to the average wait time of one hour at an emergency room, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Patients will be treated with advanced medical technology, including the Abaxis Piccolo xpress, a compact clinical chemistry system designed by NASA for use in outer space.
The building is state-of-the-art as well, as designer 5G Studio earned first place honors from the Center for Health Design for its emphasis on space, form, order, and transparency of the building.
Woody said cost for treatment at Legacy ER is comparable to visits at other facilities. Visits that require emergency room type treatments will be more expensive than a diagnosis for the common cold. Legacy ER accepts all private insurance plans.
Woody said he met co-founder Kirk Mahon, M.D., in junior high, and that the two of them met the third co-founder, Steven Martz, M.D., as a fellow medical professional in Dallas. Their professional paths crossed, and they found that their feelings about emergency room treatment did as well.
“Independently we all were getting a little uncomfortable with the level of service that was being provided to the patients in the emergency room,” Woody said.
The doctors are hoping that their concept, which is new to the Metroplex, will provide patients with the optimal health-care experience.
“My hope is that it can bridge the gap between the hospital and urgent care and freestanding emergency rooms,” Woody said. “Right now each of those little niches are great in what they provide, but what we’re trying to provide is something that can pull those together. It’s one-stop shopping.”
