Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

HCA Targets Central Florida for Urgent Care Growth

HCA Healthcare is investing more resources in its urgent care business in central Florida, with plans to open four new centers, as well as three new freestanding emergency rooms, by the end of 2018. The company says it’s a sound move based on data indicating residents of Orange County and Seminole County don’t have sufficient access to primary care, including walk-in care. CareNow, HCA’s urgent care brand, already operates one location in Winter Springs in …

Recognizing Ethical Companies in the Healthcare Marketplace

Seven health systems—including more than one with a stake in the urgent care marketplace—are among the World’s Most Ethical Companies, according to a new listing from the Ethisphere Institute. Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Baptist Health South Florida, Cleveland Clinic, Covenant Health, Northwell Health, Sharp HealthCare, and University Hospitals were all recognized for their ethics and compliance programs; corporate citizenship and responsibility; creating a culture of ethics; governance; and their leadership, innovation, and reputation. More …

HCA Looks to Expand Urgent Care Presence in 2017

HCA Holdings has a lot of money to shop with—a $2.9 billion capital budget, to be exact—and is planning on using a good chunk of it to buy a bigger portion of the urgent care marketplace. Known more as a hospital company, it expects to grow its urgent care business by 67% this year, from its current 72 clinics to 120 between now and December. It will also invest more heavily in the freestanding emergency …

Health Cost Containment Makes for Strange Bedfellows

HCA is joining with Coca-Cola, Verizon, American Express, and other major companies in diverse industries in a new initiative aimed at stemming skyrocketing healthcare costs. The 20 member companies of the Health Transformation Alliance will pool data on the population health of their workers as a first step toward making “smarter and better decisions” when it comes to employee health plans, according to Tevi Troy, president of the American Health Policy Institute (which came up …

Urgent Care Buyers Club Vows to Stay the Course

Healthcare corporations continue to deepen their urgent care portfolios through acquisition—and they’re seeing dividends while also planning to continue buying up properties. HCA Holdings welcomed more than a million patients into its ever-expanding urgent care units within the last year—an increase of 500%, according to the company. Having made a number of acquisitions in the urgent care marketplace, as we’ve told you, HCA now has 66 centers in the U.S. The hospital giant has reported …