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HEALTHCARE
NEWS
HCA buys 59 urgent care
centers in Florida
By Alia Paavola
N
ashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has finalized
the purchase of MD Now Urgent Care, a network of
59 urgent care centers in Florida.
The transaction involving Florida's largest urgent care chain,
announced Jan. 4, significantly expands HCA's reach as an
urgent care provider. HCA operates 170 urgent care clinics
in 19 markets.
"The addition of MD Now Urgent Care in Florida enhances
our already strong capabilities in a rapidly growing state
by providing convenient outpatient care options for our
patients," said Sam Hazen, CEO of HCA Healthcare. "It also
connects MD Now patients to a comprehensive statewide
network of care, including acute care and specialty services
should they be needed."
HCA said the transaction closed at the end of 2021; the
terms of the transaction were not disclosed. HCA said it has
invested heavily in the Florida market, including $3 billion in
capital projects over the last three years. n
The strategy behind
a Florida health
system's mostly female
leadership team
By Kelly Gooch
W
hen Maggie Gill took her first position as a health-
care CFO with Tenet Healthcare in 1994, there was
one thing that stood out to her: a predominantly
male executive team.
"I was a young female executive, and I remember looking
around the room and seeing no one who looked like me," she
recalled. "I always believe people should earn their promotions
and work based on the work that they do. But it struck me that
we're an industry that's largely female dominated, and there
aren't a lot of women sitting around me in this room."
Since that time, Ms. Gill has served in various roles, includ-
ing president and CEO of Savannah, Ga.-based Memorial
Health and CEO of Novant Health UVA Health System in
northern Virginia, now UVA Health. Currently, she is CEO of
Palm Beach Health Network, a healthcare network in Palm
Beach County, Fla., and part of Dallas-based Tenet.
A study published Nov. 29 in JAMA Network Open found women
hold only 15 percent of CEO roles in healthcare organizations.
However, in the Palm Beach Health Network, 68 percent of
C-suite-level hospital leaders are female, and four of the five
hospital CEOs within the group are female. n
10 hospital closures
in the past year
By Ayla Ellison
From reimbursement landscape challenges to dwindling patient
volumes, many factors lead hospitals to shut down.
Below are 10 hospitals that have closed or announced plans to
close in the past year.
1-2. West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health closed two hospitals
in January. e West Reading, Pa.-based system closed Jenne-
rsville Hospital in West Grove, Pa., on Dec. 31 and Brandywine
Hospital in Coatesville, Pa., on Jan. 31.
3. MercyOne Oakland (Neb.) Medical Center closed July 1
aer years of declining inpatient and emergency department
volumes. While inpatient and emergency services ended, clinics
at MercyOne Oakland and its affiliate, Lyons (Neb.) Family
Medicine, remain open.
4. Community HealthCare System-St. Marys (Kan.) closed in
June, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services
Research. e Sheps Center defines a hospital closure as the ces-
sation in the provision of inpatient services. e hospital's clinic
remains open, and physical, occupational and speech therapy,
X-ray, laboratory and other services are available.
5. Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tulsa (Okla.) closed in
May. e hospital attributed the closure to patient access pres-
sures and insurance limitations in the local market. About 400
employees were affected by the closure.
6. Olympia Medical Center, a 204-bed hospital in Los Ange-
les, closed March 31. Irvine, Calif.-based Alecto Healthcare
Services, a private company, sold the hospital in January
to UCLA Health.
7. Jellico (Tenn.) Medical Center closed March 1, days aer the
city council voted to send a contract termination notice to the
hospital's operator, Rennova Health. Rennova management said
the city council's contract termination decision le the company
with no option but to close the hospital.
8. Heights Hospital in Houston closed Jan. 18, 2021, aer its
management failed to pay rent. e hospital was once an acute
care facility but was offering outpatient and specialty care when
it closed. Heights Hospital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in June.
9-10. Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System closed
two community hospitals in Overland Park, Kan., on Dec.
30, 2020. Both facilities were named Saint Luke's Community
Hospital. "Two of our locations have seen lower patient volumes
since opening, and as we look at ways to provide care while
operating as efficiently as possible during this challenging time,
we have made the decision to close these two locations," Bobby
Olm-Shipman, Saint Luke's South and East Region CEO, said
while announcing the closure of the locations. n
