COMMERCE, TX — Tonight at 7 p.m., the doors will permanently close at the Hunt Regional Emergency Centers in Commerce and Quinlan. The closures, driven by financial and operational constraints, represent a significant loss of immediate-access healthcare for residents in eastern Hunt County.
While health experts frequently advise the public to utilize primary care physicians (PCPs) for routine issues and preventative medicine—saving the emergency room for true emergencies—the reality on the ground in East Texas tells a far more complicated story about healthcare access. For many, the emergency center wasn't a choice; it was the only option when facing multi-week wait times to see a doctor.
The Myth of Immediate Access
When a child has a sudden fever or a chronic condition flares up, the directive to "call your doctor" often hits a wall of scheduling reality. New data illustrates just how inaccessible primary care has become, even in the nation's most physician-dense areas.
A 2025 survey by AMN Healthcare found that the average wait time for a new patient to schedule an appointment with a family medicine physician across 15 major U.S. metropolitan areas (including Dallas and Houston) had reached 23.5 days. The wait for a new OB/GYN appointment was even longer, averaging 41.8 days across those same cities (Medical Economics, May 2025).
As the report itself noted, if wait times are this extended in areas with high physician-to-population ratios, access in rural and smaller communities like those across Hunt County is likely "even more problematic."
Texas and the Rural Shortage
The difficulty in securing an appointment is rooted in Texas’ persistent physician shortage.
According to data from the Texas Medical Association, the state’s ratio of patient care physicians per 100,000 people (204.6) sits well below the national average (247.5). Further compounding the issue, more than 6 million Texans currently reside in areas federally designated as Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) (TexMed, November 2022).
The problem is particularly acute here in Northeast Texas. Projections from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) highlight that the East Texas Public Health Region faces one of the highest projected unmet demands for health workers in the state, with unmet demand for primary care physicians projected at 51% and overall health workforce at 58% by 2036 (DSHS, September 2024).
For local families, this data translates into a scenario where finding an immediate appointment for something non-critical, yet urgent, is nearly impossible. When the choice is between waiting a month to address a developing health concern or visiting the local ER, the emergency center often becomes the default medical home.
The Immediate Impact
With the Commerce and Quinlan ERs closing this evening, local residents must now calculate travel time—and risk—to access care. The nearest full-service hospitals are now centralized in Greenville, potentially adding significant minutes to emergency transport times and non-urgent travel.
The closure serves as a loud reminder that while community members are urged to utilize primary care, policy leaders and healthcare systems must first address the systemic, data-driven reality of the physician shortage that makes that advice impossible for millions of Texans. Until primary care accessibility is dramatically improved in rural areas, emergency rooms, however costly, will remain the essential safety net.
