Nearly 12 months and more than 12,000 patient visits after opening their doors, the principals with the Fountain Hills Medical Center (FHMC) want to say thank you to the community for the warm reception they have received.

“We have had great patient interaction,” said Dr. Scott Schleifer, emergency medicine medical director.

“We do call-backs, and a high percentage of patients are happy with our staff and the care they received.”

“We have been thrilled by the patient feedback and tremendous response over this past year,” said Cindy Golisch, FHMC community outreach liaison/coordinator. “This is why we are here, to help patients with their journey.”

FHMC operates a free-standing emergency room as well as an urgent care/primary care clinic at Saguaro Boulevard and Trevino Drive in Fountain Hills. This is just north of the Saguaro intersection with Shea Boulevard.

Schleifer emphasizes they offer 24-hour emergency care, seven days a week. They can treat the range of issues from lacerations to heart attacks. There are 10 experienced and knowledgeable emergency doctors working out of the ER, according to Schleifer. They offer the same care that is received at most emergency rooms is major hospitals around the Valley. They are busy, but doctors are able to see patients much more quickly than large hospital emergency rooms.

Wait times at the ER are 80% to 90% below times at other emergency rooms in the Valley, according to Schleifer.

“We let those who are waiting know what is going on ahead of them,” he said.

They see pediatric patients on a regular basis, at least one as young as 12 days old, as well as those into their teen years.

The medical center is also well prepared for any potential new surge in COVID cases, according to Schleifer. They have both the testing capabilities and available treatments.

A new federal law recently took effect related to “no surprise billing” for hospital emergency treatment. This is and has been the policy for FHMC since the beginning.

“When you come in for an emergency we will accept any insurance,” Schleifer said. “The visit will be covered by whatever the insurance pays for emergency services and visits, we do not balance bill patients.

“We also do not bill insured patients for high deductible cost assignments. We generally accept what insurance pays us as full payment. We believe that cost should not be an impediment for patients to access quality emergency care close to home.”

They accept any group or health plan the patient has. Patients may receive an explanation of benefits (EOB) from their insurance company, but this is not a bill.

Schleifer acknowledges that early on there was confusion with their billing practices, but they are now using a billing partner that better understands how they operate as a free-standing emergency room.

The Fountain Hills Medical Center is in the process of developing plans for its expansion to a fully certified community hospital. Schleifer said architects are currently working with state regulators to prepare the appropriate plans before moving forward. He noted there are a lot of details that need to be considered and worked through. Groundbreaking for Phase II is projected for later this year.