HCA adds 'Healthcare' to name

Nashville-based HCA Holdings will be renamed HCA Healthcare later this month — a move that reflects trends around the industry

The change better reflects how the company interacts with patients, said CEO Milton Johnson on an earnings call about first quarter results. The company will continue to trade as HCA.

Branding is increasingly important as hospital operators continue to adapt to retail and consumer-driven changes. Its patients in many markets can choose from a variety of facilities, including urgent care facilities and freestanding emergency rooms.

As health care services are decentralized from hospitals to other, lower cost facilities, companies that have traditionally been hospital owners and operators are engaging with patients in new ways. LifePoint Health swapped out "Hospitals" for "Health" in 2015.

HCA — a key pillar of Nashville's health care industry — is trying to build up networks in key markets, including Nashville, to provide patients with a web of care under a name they recognize.

In the greater Nashville area, HCA owns TriStar Health, which is a go-to system for insurance companies looking to limit costs with narrow networks. TriStar emerged as the only health system in Middle Tennessee on the 2017 individual insurance exchange until Saint Thomas Health negotiated a last-minute agreement.

HCA has similar models across its portfolio and is in the process of expanding its footprint in Houston. It's agreed to buy three Houston-area hospitals from Tenet Healthcare for $725 million and one in the area from Community Healthy Systems. Both deals are on track to close this summer, Johnson said on the call. HCA is also buying a San Antonio-area hospital from CHS.

HCA will have 14 hospitals in Houston once the deals close, making it the company with the most beds in the city, according to a research note from Brian Tanquilut at Jefferies.

Reach Holly Fletcher at hfletcher@tennessean.com or 615-259-8287 and on Twitter @hollyfletcher.