HCA Healthcare has added a chain of 40 Texas urgent care centers to its collection, which now totals more than 430 nationwide, according to announcements from the for-profit’s affiliates and leadership.
The Texas MedClinic network facilities previously owned by Community Care Partners are being rebranded as CareNow, HCA Healthcare Vice President of Strategic Growth Tyler Laymon explained in a LinkedIn announcement. Eight of those, in Houston, are the company’s first in Texas to receive the “HCA CareNow” branding, he said.
Eighteen others were folded into the Methodist Healthcare system, which is an 11-hospital affiliate whose ownership is split evenly between HCA Healthcare and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas. It now brings the system’s total locations in South Texas to 35, according to a press release.
"Texas MedClinic has been an important part of the San Antonio community for decades, and we're proud to build on that legacy," Dan Miller, president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare, said in that release. "By bringing these locations into the Methodist Healthcare family, we're creating a more connected healthcare experience while ensuring patients have access to the care they need, close to home."
The remaining 14 acquired urgent care centers are being added to St. David’s HealthCare, which HCA operates as part of a strategic partnership with local nonprofits the St. David’s Foundation and Georgetown Health Foundation. The seven-hospital system said the arrangement grows its St. David’s CareNow Urgent Care line from 25 Central Texas locations up to 39.
“Access to convenient, high-quality urgent care is essential for the health and well-being of our growing community,” David Huffstutler, president and CEO of St. David’s HealthCare, said in a statement. “Adding these urgent care facilities significantly expands the St. David’s CareNow footprint into new Central Texas communities, including Burnet, Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Lockhart and Dripping Springs, connecting more patients to the trusted care and resources of St. David’s HealthCare.”
Laymon, in his LinkedIn announcement, said HCA’s acquisitions aim to expand care access across its markets. The branding decision for the eight facilities not tied to Methodist or St. David’s, meanwhile, “reflects our broader effort to unite more of our sites of care under the HCA Healthcare brand while strengthening how our connected network serves patients, colleagues, physicians and communities,” he wrote.
HCA Healthcare is the country’s largest for-profit healthcare chain, with 190 hospitals and over 2,500 total care sites. Its senior leadership has often pointed to Texas as a high-growth state, and as recently as this quarter’s earnings call said it intends to invest there to meet anticipated demand from the increasing population. The company has previously made similar moves to boost its urgent care presence in the state, such as its 2023 acquisition of 41 urgent care centers from FastMed.
Laymon said the deal now brings HCA’s CareNow footprint to more than 190 locations in the Lone Star State, with more than 430 in total across the country. None of the announcements disclosed any financial terms for the transaction.