Nashville-based hospital chain HCA is expanding not just by buying hospitals, but building them as well. The company is building smaller medical centers to serve a younger market.
Lone Peak Hospital in Draper, Utah opened yesterday with 30 beds. The hospital is designed with future expansion of inpatient services in mind. Image: HCA
HCA’s newest facility opened yesterday in Draper, Utah. The suburb of Salt Lake City has seen its population jump more than 400 percent since 1990. President of Operations Sam Hazen says the company is also targeting other cities with fast-growing young populations, like Houston and Orlando.
“They’re not demanding as much impatient healthcare as you might in a market with a different kind of demographic,” he says. “So, we’ll start out with basic services focused on the outpatient areas. Clearly, emergency room capability, out patient surgery, a lot of imaging. Then we’ll have a lot of women’s services.”
Hazen says these new hospitals are opening with around 30 to 40 beds, but he says their footprint can expand as this targeted demographic grows older and needs more medical services.
HCA executives talked about their growth strategy on an earnings call today. The company says its profits increased 8 percent in the second quarter, compared the same period last year.
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