VIable

NDHI
NAT IONAL DIALOGUE FOR
Healthcare Innovation
Expanding Urgent Care
Access
Organization Overview
• Texas Health Resources is one of the largest
faith-based, nonprofit health systems in the United
States, which owns, operates, or affiliates with 25
acute-care and short-stay hospitals
• Adeptus Health owns and operates First Texas
Hospital and First Choice Emergency Room, the
nation’s largest and oldest network of independent
freestanding emergency rooms
Background
Population center growth has outpaced the expansion
of acute-care hospital systems, leaving patients in
more rural areas without access to necessary facilities.
These patients often have to drive long distances to
receive urgent care. Often, the patients are treated at
hospital-based emergency rooms, although most acute
illnesses can be treated effectively and efficiently in
freestanding emergency facilities. Texas Health has
responded to demand from patients, expanding its
reach through a partnership with Adeptus Health to
improve the health of patients in rural communities.
Initiative Details
In May 2016, Texas Health Resources and Adeptus
Health developed a joint venture that aims to increase
access to high-quality emergency medical care in
North Texas.
Through the joint venture, over 30 of Adeptus Health’s
First Choice freestanding emergency departments, as
well as a 50-bed urgent care hospital, have become
part of the Texas Health network. This joint venture
expands the reach of Texas Health’s network of hospitals
and outpatient centers to over 350 care sites,
serving more than 7 million residents in 16 counties
in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“
Value Delivered
• Through their partnership, Texas Health Resources
and Adeptus Health are broadening the choices of
North Texans seeking emergency care
• Patients will benefit from simplified and convenient
emergency care, as well as enhanced access to the
health system’s other services, such as wellness
programs, preventive care services, and advanced
interventions for complex care
Path Forward
“Expanding our footprint in the
region is about making it easier
for consumers to find quality,
convenient care close to home.”
“
Barclay E. Berdan, FACHE
CEO of Texas Health Resources
This innovative venture between two leading health care
systems is an important step in fulfilling the systems’
goal of expanding access to the highest-quality medical
care in the communities the partnership serves. In the
short-term, the First Choice ERs will be rebranded to
Texas Health. The long-term goal of the joint venture
is to expand access to Texas Health’s integrated
delivery network.
An Initiative of the
37 | Expanding Urgent Care Access