By: Sara Warden
2 min read February 2020 — Palm Beach’s population is growing and, with an increasing need for medical services, providers are getting innovative to avoid saturated doctors’ practices and hospitals. Last month, Florida overtook Texas as the No. 1 state for population growth, and West Palm Beach came in fifth in terms of growing cities. All this growth increases the need for infrastructure and services to serve the population.
The University of Miami announced this week it would be launching a concierge medicine program in Palm Beach that includes internal doctors and an on-site laboratory set to open in the fall. This would be the first UM medical systems concierge medical office in Palm Beach and would be located in 7,000 square meters of rented space at the Flagler Banyan Square mixed-use project.
Concierge services are an alternative to relieve the pressure from primary care providers. UHealth Premier services, for example, include an annual check-up, short waiting times, same or next-day appointments, and 24-hour phone contact with a doctor seven days a week, all for an annual membership fee. The clinic in West Palm Beach will specialize in urology, gastroenterology, cardiology, neurology and dermatology.
The news comes as Cleveland Clinic, Baptist Health and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital also announced they would be expanding their presence in Palm Beach County by offering more services and locations for patients.
The Cleveland Clinic is reportedly considering building its own 50,000-square-meter facility in Downtown West Palm Beach, expanding from its current 7,400-square-foot practice in the Village Green Center in Wellington. It has reportedly made enquiries about a property on Okeechobee Boulevard, east of I-95.
NYU Langone Health also arrived in Palm Beach in November 2017 with its multispecialty ambulatory practice providing primary and cardiology care, often offering same-day appointments. “NYU Langone’s first Florida location in Delray Beach has been enthusiastically embraced by the community,” said Andrew Rubin, vice president, clinical affairs and ambulatory care at NYU Langone. “For this reason, we are extremely excited to introduce a second Florida practice in West Palm Beach to provide high-quality and personalized care to an even greater number of our patients who reside in Florida.”
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital first expanded into Wellington with a 30,000-square-meter practice in 2019, but due to demand, it has already expanded its service offering, recruiting more doctors with specializations in disciplines such as cardiac and neurosurgery. “The demand for our outpatient rehabilitation services is well above our expectations,” said Caitlin Stella, managing director of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to the Palm Beach Post. “We are bringing the more complex programs faster than expected.”
To learn more about our interviewees, visit:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/
