NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) today announced the purchase of 24 MedSpring urgent care centers from Fresenius Medical Care. The urgent care centers, located in Austin, Dallas and Houston, will be rebranded to CareNow Urgent Care, which is operated by HCA Healthcare and represents one of the largest urgent care networks in the country.

“Like many of our communities across the country, Austin, Dallas and Houston are experiencing significant growth, and increasingly people want to be able to access healthcare services closer to where they live and work,” said Sam Hazen, HCA Healthcare’s chief executive officer. “The addition of these urgent care centers will complement our already robust healthcare networks and help us provide more convenient access for our patients.”

As a result of the acquisition, HCA Healthcare has 160 urgent care centers across the country. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About HCA Healthcare

Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nation's leading providers of healthcare services, comprising 185 hospitals and approximately 2,000 sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 21 states and the United Kingdom. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. HCA Healthcare has conducted a number of clinical studies, including one that demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early elective delivery of babies and another that identified a clinical protocol that can reduce bloodstream infections in ICU patients by 44 percent. HCA Healthcare is a learning healthcare system that uses its more than 31 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives. Please click here to connect with HCA Healthcare on social media.