Tenet Healthcare to sell its urgent care locations to FastMed Urgent Care
With the agreement, FastMed will add 87 CareSpot and MedPost centers to their 104 locations in North Carolina, Arizona and Texas.
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has reached a definitive agreement to sell its urgent care business to FastMed Urgent Care.
Tenet's urgent care arm currently operates under the CareSpot and MedPost brands and is managed by its United Surgical Partners International subsidiary.
With the agreement, FastMed will add 87 CareSpot and MedPost centers to their 104 locations in North Carolina, Arizona and Texas. It will allow FastMed to move into new markets in Florida and California, where most of the acquired centers are located.
The deal is expected to finalize in the first quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The agreement will allow Tenet to "sharpen [its] focus" on growing out its ambulatory surgical services, said Ron Rittenmeyer, the Executive Chairman and CEO of Tenet Healthcare.
Last week, the company announced it acquired up to 45 ambulatory surgery centers from SurgCenter Development for approximately $1.1 billion in cash. The centers will be operated by Tenet's United Surgical Partners International subsidiary and are located in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, New Hampshire, Texas and Wisconsin.
THE LARGER TREND
Retailers like Walgreens, CVS and Walmart have recently added competition in the urgent care space.
Walgreens recently announced it would open 40 new full-service primary care clinics with VillageMD by the end of summer 2021. The clinics will be built in areas of Houston, El Paso and Austin, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; and Orlando, Florida.
These openings are a part of Walgreens' larger plan to open 500 to 700 Village Medical at Walgreens clinics in more than 30 U.S. markets in the next five years.
By the end of 2021, CVS hopes to have added 1,500 HealthHubs to its more than 9,900 retail locations.
Walmart also has plans to grow its facilities next year. It hopes to expand its services to operate 22 facilities by the end of 2021. Walmart Health's care centers are built in communities in need of affordable, accessible preventative care.
ON THE RECORD
"We have tremendous respect for FastMed and are pleased that our facilities will become part of this strong and growing urgent care business, while also enabling Tenet and USPI to sharpen our focus on the continued growth and expansion of ambulatory surgical services," Rittenmeyer said. "We are confident our urgent care centers will continue to thrive under FastMed's leadership."
Twitter: @HackettMallory
Email the writer: mhackett@himss.org
