Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Expanding Neighborhood Hospitals to Improve Access and Affordability in Healthcare with Vic Schmerbeck
Mar 17, 2026
Vic Schmerbeck, CEO of Ameris (Emerus), leads co-owned neighborhood hospitals and small-format community care. He discusses bringing care closer to patients and cutting travel and wait times. He explains partnerships with health systems, integration of tech like AI, and strategies for smart growth, recruitment, and retaining clinical teams.
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Neighborhood Hospitals Cut Travel And Wait Times
- Neighborhood hospitals reduce travel and wait times for routine acute care.
- Ameris locations cut average travel from 30 minutes to eight minutes and see patients in rooms within 15 minutes.
Integrated Co-Owned Sites Keep Care Local
- Co-owned neighborhood hospitals integrate with health systems to treat locally and transfer when needed.
- Facilities use unified EMR and direct admissions to capture community cases and escalate complex care to partner systems.
Partnerships Offer Turnkey Expansion For Systems
- Health systems partner with operators for a turnkey way to expand access.
- Ameris supplies capital, site selection, and operations expertise so systems can deploy neighborhood hospitals faster.