National health system buys the College of Health Care Professions to recruit new staff in Texas
A large national healthcare system announced it’s acquiring the College of Health Care Professions (CHCP), a large for-profit healthcare training school headquartered in Texas. The group provides education to more than 8,000 healthcare professionals every year, utilizing 10 campuses across the state for training purposes.
In an announcement, HCA Healthcare—a for-profit healthcare system of over 186 hospitals and approximately 2,400 care sites headquartered in Tennessee—said the acquisition will allow it to strengthen its talent pipeline in order to better serve patients.
HCA Healthcare operates in 19 states, and is one of the largest provider networks in Texas. The company is publicly traded and earns revenue of almost $71 billion every year.
The group said it has a history of working with CHCP, not only for hiring staff, as the two organizations have been “partnering through program advisory boards, clinical sites and career placement.”
It was noted that, in 2023, HCA Healthcare collaborated with CHCP on a 12-week medical assistant training program aimed at bringing staff into emergency rooms at HCA hospitals. That program alone has brought in over 100 clinicians into the organization, the health system said.
The transition in ownership is not expected to significantly alter CHCP leadership. It was confirmed that current Chancellor and CEO Eric Bing will continue in his role, as the core mission of the organization to “support and empower students to succeed in healthcare careers” will not change.
“CHCP is excited to be part of HCA Healthcare,” Bing said. “Our goal is for our shared commitment to adult learner success, academic excellence and workforce readiness to help increase opportunities for aspiring healthcare professionals and make a positive impact in communities across the country.”
The educational institution first opened in 1988, and has since seen more than 52,000 healthcare practitioners graduate, including medical assistants. The company offers hybrid online and in-person classes to educate the next generation of healthcare professionals.
Currently, CHCP offers 20 accredited programs, including medical assisting, sonography, surgical technology, radiologic technology and medical coding and billing. HCA said its investment will continue those educational opportunities, while offering additional career development opportunities.
A history of education acquisitions
HCA Healthcare has been buying up colleges over the last few years, expanding capacity for students to enroll by opening new campuses.
In 2020, the health system became the majority owner of Galen College of Nursing, one of the largest educators of nurses in the country. Since then, it said it’s opened more than 20 new campuses.
Before the purchase, Galen only had five.
HCA also operates the Research College of Nursing in Kansas City, Missouri and HCA Florida Mercy College of Nursing in Miami, Florida. Additionally, it stated that it helped launch Pepperdine University’s School of Nursing within the College of Health Sciences.
To support these efforts, the health system said it started a $1.35 million grant program to assist students with tuition costs. The initiative, called Educate Texas, is primarily focused on creating jobs in the state.
HCA looked to recruit students straight out of high school looking for a career in healthcare—a goal the CHCP acquisition is expected to support.
While the deal has been finalized, it is subject to customary regulatory approval. The specific financial terms were not disclosed.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.