Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian and its affiliate Hoag Orthopedic Institute are expanding their presence in South Orange County, as well as building a new “fast track” emergency room in Newport Beach.
Hoag Orthopedic, which is 51% owned by the hospital, this month is opening a 10,000-square-foot facility in Aliso Viejo to go along with five other ambulatory centers in Southern California and its hospital in Irvine.
Age groups over 55 years old are expected to increase significantly in Orange County in the next decade, said Hoag Orthopedics Chief Executive Kim Mikes.
“Aliso Viejo and the surrounding areas don’t have a higher percentage of 55+ than other areas in OC, but Laguna Woods, which is 2.5 miles is 81% over 65,” she said. “That presents a large long-term market for us for orthopedic, joint replacement, spine and sports-related injuries.”
Up until a decade ago, people who underwent these surgeries often wouldn’t get out of bed for days and end up spending a week in a hospital, Mikes said. By contrast, the new facility has only two beds for overnight stays.
“This center was specifically built to get people out the same day without having to stay overnight,” Mikes said. “There’s no reason why people have to be overnight in the hospital for a total joint replacement. Most people can go home the same day.”
The new facility, which employs 50 people, has four extra-large operating rooms around 500 to 600 square feet compared to a typical 350 to 400 square feet. The surgery rooms have space for robots and cameras to help both with surgeries and teaching.
Hoag Orthopedic says it conducts 24,000 surgeries annually, including 4,700 joint procedures, more than anyone else in the western U.S. The Aliso Viejo facility is gearing up for up to 500 operations a month.
While Hoag Hospital is spending about $1 billion to expand and build new facilities in Irvine, it’s also continuing to invest elsewhere.
On Aug. 26, about 600 attendees went to the grand opening of the Hoag Health Center Dove Canyon, a 7,345-square-foot facility located in a shopping center in Trabuco Canyon.
The facility, which employs 15 and is looking to hire, offers same day sick appointments to treat most illnesses and injuries.
It has seven rooms available for primary care and eight rooms for urgent care. It also provides testing facility and X-ray machines.
“We’ve had a fairly full every day since opening” on Aug. 30, said Dr. Samuel Herman, an internist who works at the new facility.
Fast Track
Hoag’s principal hospital in Newport Beach is spending millions of dollars to renovate its Emergency Department for a “fast track” space.
The problem is that its regular emergency facility would fill up with patients with conditions that weren’t life threatening and could have been treated in urgent care facilities, Hoag Chief Operations Officer Marcy Brown said.
By law, Hoag is obligated to treat these patients, she said.
“The lobby was saturated many times, causing us to go on diversion, meaning ambulances weren’t able to bring patients to Hoag,” she added.
The 4,500-square-foot expansion is set to open next summer and is designed to serve low acuity patients with non-urgent medical issues.
The fast-track site, which is adjacent to its regular emergency room, will include 11 exam spaces, a “results waiting” lounge and an area for clinical support. Hoag tested the Fast Track concept in Irvine, where it worked well, Brown said.
“This is a significant investment,” Brown said.
