Adventist HealthCare to Close Germantown Emergency Center, Refocusing Access to Meet Upcounty’s Changing Needs
Public Notice of Community Meeting
An Informational Meeting about the closure will be held for the community:
Date: Tuesday, April 14
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: BlackRock Center for the Arts
Representatives of Adventist HealthCare will include:
- Dan Cochran, President of Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center
- Todd Cohen, Vice President, Facilities and Real Estate
- Safy John, MD, board member
For additional information, email Info@AdventistHealthCare.com.
GERMANTOWN, Md. — After careful consideration, Adventist HealthCare has decided to close its Germantown Emergency Center on July 1. The change will allow the system to better direct access and serve patients at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville.
Employees of the Germantown Emergency Center have been invited to remain with Adventist HealthCare and serve patients in Rockville or its other locations.
The decision highlights a decade-plus of growth in healthcare offerings available to Germantown residents. As a result, number of patients using Germantown Emergency Center dropped by a third in recent years after peaking at 36,000 visits in 2011. Cases at the center have transitioned to mostly lower-acuity conditions that can be treated at primary or urgent care rather than a full-service emergency room. The center operates as a unit of Shady Grove Medical Center’s Emergency Department, which remains ready to provide advanced, life-saving care to residents.
Adventist HealthCare will hold an informational meeting about transition plans for the center on Tuesday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. at BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive in Germantown. Additional details will be available at AdventistGEC.com
When Germantown Emergency Center opened in 2006, the 24/7 emergency room filled a gap in acute-care health services in upper Montgomery County. As an extension of Shady Grove Medical Center, the center provided convenient access for patients in upper Montgomery County who might later be transferred for inpatient care in Rockville.
After its opening, the healthcare landscape in Germantown developed substantially. The community now has an acute-care hospital 2 miles away from the center, along with numerous urgent care sites to serve residents.
Adventist HealthCare remains deeply committed to upper Montgomery County residents and will continue to serve their health needs at its other Germantown locations. The health system has offices for primary care, cardiac specialty care and imaging in the community, as well as a partnership with a Patriot Urgent Care center in Germantown. Shady Grove Medical Center is 9 miles away and offers residents comprehensive acute-care services, including adult and specialized pediatric emergency care, heart and vascular care, surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics. In June, Shady Grove Medical Center will open a new building anchored by a state-of-the-art emergency room.
"Germantown Emergency Center’s 20 years of exceptional care will leave a lasting legacy," said Dan Cochran, president of Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center. "We are grateful to have led the way in bringing life-saving care to Germantown residents, launching the abundance of health services that serve this wonderful community today."
