There is rampant consolidation in the healthcare industry, with for-profit hospital operators experiencing significant growth by acquiring new hospitals to add to their networks. However, Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America is taking a different route to expand.
Speaking at the Nashville Business Breakfast on Wednesday, HCA Holdings Chairman and CEO Milton Johnson offered a glimpse into why his organization's expansion plans are different than those of many hospital companies, according to a Nashville Business Journal report.
Instead of buying competing hospitals in urban markets — which is difficult for HCA because of regulatory controls — or entering new markets, HCA is focusing on growing the services it offers in the markets it already operates in.
"Our growth strategy is to take market share in these larger markets," Mr. Johnson said, according to the report.
An example of this strategy in action is HCA's TriStar Health based in Brentwood, Tenn. The goal is to expand the system until there is a TriStar access point within 15 minutes of every Middle Tennessean, according to the report.
Although HCA has made some acquisitions on the health IT side in recent years, Mr. Milton indicated that TriStar's local growth strategy is a symbol of how the company will expand in coming years.
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