Emergency rooms in competition

Ocala Health System, the HCA-owned system that includes Ocala Regional Medical Center and West Marion Community, launched an aggressive marketing blitz in the spring touting low wait times at its emergency rooms.

At Munroe Regional Medical Center, which also has an additional emergency department at TimberRidge, staffers have done everything they can to make sure patients who want to go to a Munroe ER can go to a Munroe ER. In the past year, the hospital hasn't had to divert any ER patients to other hospitals.