Freestanding emergency room frequently asked questions

A freestanding ER is not located on a hospital campus. A standalone ER is open to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to treat urgent and emergent medical conditions. An appointment will not be needed. At our freestanding ERs, you’ll find the same board-certified emergency medicine physicians and ER nurses who serve our in-hospital ERs. Our care facilities also have the same diagnostic and imaging equipment.

Freestanding ERs are open 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, whereas most urgent care centers are only open 8 to 16 hours per day. HCA Virginia freestanding ERs are also capable of treating all urgent and emergent medical conditions, including heart attacks, strokes, respiratory distress, head injuries, abdominal pain, dehydration, orthopedic injuries (fractures), sports injuries and lacerations (cuts requiring stitches). Most urgent care centers cannot provide this level of care. Additionally, our freestanding ERs will treat everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.

Freestanding ERs provide the same emergency treatment that patients receive in a traditional hospital-based emergency department and are often in communities further away from a hospital. Our standalone ERs are designed to provide quick, effective care in a uniquely convenient, comfortable and welcoming atmosphere, closer to home and work.

If needed, we will transport patients from one of our freestanding ERs by ambulance to a nearby HCA hospital free of charge and with a seamless continuum of care. However, if the patient chooses to go to another non-HCA Healthcare facility, we will bill the patient or the patient’s insurance for the ambulance cost.

Per the national Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), patients are never required to pay for services in an emergency room setting. Therefore, emergency departments can never withhold treatment because someone cannot pay. At HCA Virginia freestanding ERs, we request that you pay the emergency room co-pay that your insurance plan requires, but we can bill you later if you cannot pay at the time of service.

Our freestanding ERs accept the same insurance plans accepted at our hospital-based ERs.

HCA Virginia standalone ERs will have the same charges as our hospital-based ER. We will treat uninsured patients even if they cannot pay. For uninsured patients, we offer the same discounts we offer participating managed-care and insurance companies.