Urgent Care Seeing Significant Growth

DALLAS-You can call them “doc-in-the-boxes” or “clinics,” but one thing clear is that urgent care centers are growing. And experts tell GlobeSt.com that, with the growth is coming increased demand for commercial real estate in densely populated neighborhoods near high-traffic locations.

The concept of urgent care has been around for about 30 years. Unlike a hospital or physician, the urgent care center has one goal: To diagnose basic symptoms and to get the patient out as quickly as possible. The experts agree that the concept has exploded in recent years for a variety of reasons. “There are currently around 9,200 urgent care facilities around the country, and approximately 300 to 400 being added every year,” comments Searcy Ferguson, first vice president with CBRE. Ferguson and CBRE colleague First Vice President Jordan Buis, handle leasing activities for Concentra, a national urgent care center company, which both brokers say attracts approximately 35,000 patients a day. On a macro scale, Ferguson notes, approximately 3 million patients a week go to urgent care facilities nationwide.