York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health has entered an agreement to construct three small community hospitals with Emerus, the largest operator of neighborhood hospitals in the U.S.
Emerus, based in The Woodlands, Texas, will operate and staff the three facilities in Pennsylvania's Cumberland and York counties; however, they will be fully integrated with WellSpan systems.
Each hospital will feature an emergency department and up to 10 inpatient beds, with 24/7 operations. Groundbreaking for the first facility is tentatively scheduled for the end of 2023, with a potential opening by the end of 2024.
Emerus has partnered on similar projects with health systems including St. Louis-based Ascension, Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health and Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health.