The healthcare market in Gilbert, Ariz., is booming, with new entrants reflecting bigger industry trends, according to Community Impact.
The town already has more than 300 healthcare establishments with five or more employees, and 30 acres are set aside for future medical projects.
The ACA is a major factor driving development, specifically of efficient integrated practices and outpatient care centers, according to Julie Johnson, a principal at commercial real estate company Avison Young who was interviewed by CI.
"For just a variety of reasons and the fact that it's so much less expensive, the outpatient setting is really something that has grown a lot," she told the outlet. "There will always be the need for high acuity, for the hospital campus. But [health systems are] saving the hospital campus for really much more of that specific need and then pushing the rest of it off campus."
Gilbert offers a prime example of how that's playing out. Two major players in Gilbert's market, Phoenix-based Banner Health and San Francisco-based Dignity Health, told CI they're focused on keeping patients out of the hospital.
As a result, many procedures are shifting to the integrated practices and outpatient care centers that are cropping up left and right.
Phoenix-based OrthoArizona, an orthopedic practice with 25 locations, selected Gilbert as the site for its first ASC, which opened in January. Months later, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Cancer Treatment Centers of America opened an outpatient care center in the city.
A behavioral health facility and several medical offices are also coming to Gilbert. One medical facility under construction south of Mercy Gilbert Medical Center will be occupied by many surgeons who plan to perform on-site surgeries.
Meanwhile, Dignity is building the 380,000-square-foot Women's and Children's Pavilion on the Mercy Gilbert campus through a partnership with Phoenix Children's Hospital. Gilbert's rapid growth created demand for more women and children's services, a Dignity leader told CI.
For industry leaders waiting to see how healthcare trends will take shape, Gilbert is a town to watch.
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