Brentwood, Tenn.-based Ardent Health and Tyler, Texas-based UT Health East Texas have opened specialty clinical services inside the new UT Tyler School of Medicine Building, marking the first time patient care and physician training share a single facility in the region.
The building now houses UT Health East Texas’ women’s health, pulmonary, orthopedic, imaging and surgical services alongside East Texas’ first medical school, according to a Sept. 2 news release from Ardent.
“By integrating education and patient care, we are creating new opportunities for learning, innovation and improved healthcare outcomes throughout the region,” UT Tyler President Julie Philley, MD, said in the release.
The move builds on the joint venture Ardent Health formed with the University of Texas System in 2018 to widen access to care and build up the region’s physician pipeline, according to the release. UT Tyler-led research found that if Northeast Texas — a 35-county area home to about 1.6 million people — were ranked as its own state, it would land among the least healthy in the country.
Since the formation of the joint venture, Ardent Health has invested more than $315 million in capital across UT Health East Texas, grown its employed and affiliated provider network by 116% to roughly 640 providers, and helped expand graduate medical education from about 39 residents and fellows in 2018 to more than 270 today.
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