HCA Healthcare is building three additional acute care hospitals in Florida to meet growing demand and support the other recent investments it has made across the state, the for-profit system announced Tuesday.
“Florida continues to experience rapid population growth, and the addition of these new hospitals will help HCA Florida Healthcare meet the increasing need for acute care services in these areas,” Sam Hazen, CEO of HCA Healthcare, said in a statement. “We are excited to expand our presence in the state and enhance our ability to care for patients.”
The newly announced facilities include: a Gainesville hospital with 90 acute care beds, set to begin construction in 2022 and be completed in 2023; a Fort Myers hospital with 100 beds including a women’s surgery unit, scheduled to open by 2025; and a 60-bed hospital adjacent to The Villages that’s set to expand on a nearby free-standing emergency room, for which the system did not disclose a timeline.
All three of the new facilities will fall within the company’s HCA Florida Healthcare division, which already runs 47 hospitals and is affiliated with more than 400 sites across the state, according to the announcement. Formed earlier this year, the network currently delivers care to more than 6.4 million patients annually.
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“Each of the three new hospitals will provide patient-centered care and clinical excellence to areas with vibrant, growing communities,” Chuck Hall, president of HCA Healthcare’s national group, said in a statement. “As we continue to launch the statewide HCA Florida Healthcare brand, these expansion plans come at what is already an exciting time for all of our colleagues across the state.”
HCA did not disclose the cost of these new facilities but underscored the roughly $3 billion it has pumped into its Florida interests over the last three years.
Headlining those investments is the $360 million HCA Florida University Hospital opened Nov. 15.
HCA reported $2.26 billion in net income and $15.2 billion in revenue during the most recent quarter, leading the system to raise its full-year revenue guidance to $58.7 billion to $59.3 billion. It comprises 183 hospitals and roughly 2,000 ambulatory sites of care.
The effort to shore up HCA’s Florida business falls in line with its broader strategy of doubling down on markets in which the company can establish a fleshed-out network of services.
Within the past year, this mindset has led HCA to divest several Georgia hospitals, purchase five new Utah hospitals from Steward Health Care and pick and choose its favorite of Brookdale Senior Living’s home health and hospice locations.