What is a freestanding Emergency Room?
A freestanding emergency room / center is an emergency center that is separate or “freestanding” from a hospital. We have all the support of a traditional hospital however we can deliver medical care without the wait of a traditional ER in a calm and comfortable setting.
How are you different than my doctors’ offices, urgent care clinics, or general medical clinics?
Most clinics don’t have a full laboratory, emergency pharmacy, x-ray or CT scanner at their disposal. In addition our staff and nurses have been trained in ER and ICUs around the Houston area and our physicians are fully board certified and residency trained in Emergency Medicine. This means we are able to treat minor and major emergencies ranging from sore throats and ear infections to heart attacks and strokes.
Usually at your doctor’s office you have to set an appointment and there can be a long wait. At Sacred Heart Emergency Center no appointments are necessary. As soon as you walk in you will be greeted by our professional and courteous staff and be seen by a trained nurse and ER physician within 15 minutes of your arrival. The average wait time in traditional hospital emergency rooms is 4 hours. In Houston some hospitals have wait times of 10 to 14 hours.
What if I need emergent surgery or need to be admitted to the hospital?
We have arrangements with most major hospitals to transfer you to the hospital of your choice or the hospital where your private physician has privileges. We also have arrangements with local ambulance companies to provide a safe and comfortable transfer to a facility to extend your medical care.
Are you more expensive than a traditional Emergency Room?
No, we have the same rates as a traditional hospital based emergency room, however we are able to streamline our services by offering only the tests and procedures that are necessary. Without the extra administrators and overhead we are able to offer a more personal and efficient ER experience. In addition you may be able to save on your medical expenses with our frequent specials (for example, flu shots) and our innovative billing and payment options.
What kind of insurance do you accept?
Sacred Heart ER is an out-of-network provider for all health benefit plans. All insurance providers accept and process all the OUT OF NETWORK submitted claims.
Sacred Heart ER will work with your insurer to file a claim on your behalf and use all reasonable and lawful efforts to ensure your insurer reimburses at the highest level of benefits in accordance with state and federal law and your specific benefit plan.
Do you accept Medicare?
We do not accept Medicare
I don’t understand these charges on my bill?
If you ever have any questions regarding your bill please do not hesitate to call us directly at (832) 358-0245 Monday – Friday from 8 am to 5 pm. We will do our best to make the billing process as clear and concise as possible.
You can also contact our patient advocate at the following number.
Patient Advocate: Gladys
Contact Number: 361-484-5131