One of HCA Healthcare's hospitals in Plantation, Fla., will stop providing inpatient care and convert to a freestanding emergency room operating under the direction of a nearby medical center, the company announced Oct. 27.
As a freestanding ED, the facility will be under the control of Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, an HCA hospital about five miles away. The hospital recently expanded its capacity to 250 beds.
Physicians and other employees of Plantation General will transition to a new hospital the company is opening in Davie, Fla., about six miles away, on Nov. 15. Leaders said focusing all resources on the new hospital, HCA Florida University Hospital, will allow HCA to serve more patients throughout Broward County.
"Our goal is to provide the best care possible to as many people as possible," Madeline Nava, CEO of HCA Florida University Hospital, said in a news release.
The opening of HCA Florida University Hospital, a $440 million facility, will debut the new HCA Florida Healthcare brand statewide. HCA Florida Healthcare comprises 49 hospitals and more than 350 sites of care, including physician practices and freestanding EDs.
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare ended the first nine months of this year with net income of $5.1 billion on revenue of $43.6 billion. In the same period a year earlier, the for-profit hospital operator reported net income of $2.3 billion on revenue of $37.2 billion.