HCA Healthcare to buy operations of 5 Utah hospitals from Steward Health Care

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HCA Healthcare is acquiring the operations of five Utah hospitals from Steward Health Care, the organizations have announced. The financial terms were not disclosed.

The hospitals will become part of HCA Healthcare's Mountain Division, which includes 11 hospitals in Utah, Idaho and Alaska. HCA will lease the related real estate, which includes land and buildings, from owner Medical Properties Trust following the expected closing. 

Medical Properties Trust also announced an agreement to lease substantially all of its Utah hospitals to HCA Healthcare, following HCA's purchase of the operations of the five Utah facilities from the Steward Health Care System. MPT's purchase price of $1.2 billion for the Utah hospitals places HCA Healthcare among its five largest tenants, MPT said.

Earlier this month, Medical Properties Trust and Steward amended their agreement for a new 20-year term through 2041, according to MarketWatch.

WHY THIS MATTERS

HCA is investing in a growing area.

"Utah is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country, and the state's need for healthcare continues to increase," said Sam Hazen, CEO of HCA Healthcare. "We believe the addition of these facilities will help us improve healthcare network options for patients and enable investment in services to meet increasing demand for healthcare."

Dallas-based Steward Health Care also operates hospitals in Arizona, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The sale of these facilities to HCA Healthcare will enhance Steward Health Care's ability to continue growing and reinvesting in other states, the organization said.

Steward Health Care Chairman and CEO Ralph de la Torre said, "For Steward, this transaction frees up additional capital to more deliberately invest in its accountable care model by reinvesting in risk-based opportunities and healthcare expansion."

Steward's ACO model is among the largest in the United States and second in shared savings for the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2020, de la Torre said.

THE LARGER TREND

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare has 187 hospitals and approximately 2,000 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. 

In August, HCA announced a deal with venture capital firm General Catalyst to sell off its healthcare app development firm PatientKeeper, a provider of EHR optimization software solutions, to General Catalyst's portfolio company, Commure. HCA bought the Waltham-based PatientKeeper in 2014.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com