Cleveland Clinic Creating Outpatient Care Center
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
The new plan reflects the nationwide industry trend towards outpatient care.
The Cleveland Clinic has announced it is responding to community needs and will transform its existing Lakewood Hospital into a state-of-the-art outpatient care center. It will shift its inpatient care to a new facility being constructed in Avon in September 2016, approximately 13.5 miles away. The plan includes a $120 million investment in Lakewood to make the transition, “which will modernize healthcare and deliver a more sustainable way to meet the long-term needs of the Lakewood community,” according the press release.
The plan is in line with the growing industry trend towards outpatient care, which is more efficient and cost-effective. As Health IT Outcomes reported, Oregon recently made the move from inpatient to outpatient care as a way to drive costs down and improve patient outcomes.
Under the plan, which must still be approved by the Lakewood City Council, Cleveland Clinic would create a health and wellness campus, including the construction of an estimated $34 million, 62,000-square foot family health center with a full-service emergency department that would replace the existing Lakewood hospital.
The new facility would also include primary care and specialty programs, with emphasis on diabetes, geriatrics, and cardiac care, as well as radiation and lab services. After assessing community needs, additional services could be added.
According to Fox 8 Cleveland, Lakewood Hospital has reported operating losses since 2005, falling over $20 million. Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove told Fox 8 that inpatient care demand has fallen and that Lakewood’s beds were only half full last year, in part due to the shift toward wellness and preventive care.
And community leadership supports the plan. “These have been challenging years for the hospital,” Lakewood Mayor Mike Summers, who is also a trustee for the Lakewood Hospital Association, told Fox 8. “It’s pretty clear the old model isn’t working for us, a new model needs to be delivered to Lakewood.”
If the proposal is approved, Cleveland Clinic's nearest inpatient hospitals will be Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, which is about three miles away, and The Clinic's Lutheran Hospital approximately six miles away. Cleveland Clinic’s main campus is over 13 miles away.
“Healthcare in America is in the midst of an unprecedented transformation and the way care is delivered to patients is rapidly shifting,” said Cosgrove in a statement. “Our goal is to best meet the medical needs of the Lakewood community for today and the future.”