This article discusses the current state and issues of hospitals and health systems for several different areas.

Morehead City, N.C.-based Carteret Health Care became the first facility in North Carolina to join the Mayo Clinic Care Network, according to local news station WNCT.

Walmart opened its first freestanding health center in September, and the company has hired a new executive to help the company grow its healthcare business.

Regional Health, a five-hospital system based in Rapid City, S.D., will change its name to Monument Health and join the Mayo Clinic Care Network in January.

Below are 11 hospitals that have announced name changes or other rebranding efforts since July 1. 

As the U.S. population ages and more people require healthcare for longer periods of time, healthcare will remain an "employment powerhouse," according to CNN Business.

West Virginia University Medicine, the state's largest health system, will keep expanding in nearby areas, the health system's CEO told The State Journal.

Walmart opened its first freestanding health center in September, and the retail giant is planning to open several more, President and CEO Doug McMillon said in management's commentary accompanying Walmart's third-quarter results.

Virginia Tech will establish a pediatric biomedical research lab on the new innovation campus at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., the first campus of its kind for pediatric research.

New York City-based Montefiore Health System has signed an agreement to offer complex medical care to patients from the United Arab Emirates.

Thirty-five health systems have signed letters of intent to participate in Contigo Health, a new company from Premier that links health systems with large, national employers and their health plans.

Renton, Wash.-based Providence St. Joseph Health is unifying its 51 hospitals, 829 clinics and other entities under the "Providence" brand in 2020, the system announced Nov. 11. 

Success in today's healthcare environment requires CFOs to be good businesspeople, according to Venkat Bhamidipati, MBA, executive vice president and CFO at Renton, Wash.-based Providence.

Apple's plan to invest $2.5 billion in affordable housing, like those of Google and Facebook before it, will do little to address California's housing crisis until city and state governments make pledges of their own, The New York Times reports.

The plurality (41 percent) of healthcare executives said buying or merging with a business is their preferred growth strategy for next year, according to a survey from Capital One.

Beaver Dam (Wis.) Community Hospital has changed its name after becoming part of Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic, according to the Daily Citizen. 

Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine is in the early stages of developing a medical center in Shanghai with a Chinese real estate development company, the health system announced Nov. 4.

ChristianaCare is rebranding its care management program Carelink CareNow to "CareVio" as the Wilmington, Del.-based health system further commits to addressing social determinants of health.

Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health further centralized its leadership team by eliminating its two regional president roles, according to The Post and Courier.

Indianapolis-based Riley Hospital for Children inked an agreement Oct. 14 with American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon to formally collaborate in pediatrics, adolescent medicine, pediatric surgery and pediatric cardiac surgery.