Health system C-suites across the U.S. are targeting ambulatory care expansion for 2026 as pressure mounts to lower cost of care and deliver on value-based promises. Even the nation’s largest health systems are strengthening their ambulatory footprints. Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, which operates in 28 states, is focused on outpatient growth. “Our best growth opportunities are in our ambulatory footprint and enhancing our patient care access,” said Shelly Schorer, CFO of the California Division of CommonSpirit Health, which already includes 125 ambulatory sites. “There’s still a need for the acute care setting, but we are seeing more and more services and healthcare procedures moving to the outpatient setting and I think we need to expand our ambulatory care footprint.” That ambulatory footprint includes outpatient clinics, surgery centers and urgent care facilities as well as digital health and telehealth for multiple convenient access points. Patient experience and satisfaction with their care journey has become increasingly important to hospitals and health systems as they’re competing with traditional and nontraditional care delivery sources. “We are not only serving our communities better, but we’re positioning CommonSpirit for sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape,” she said. “I think that’s where you’re going to see us really succeed in the next year or two.” Expanding outpatient centers and telehealth can create more local access points for care delivery, but it’s expensive to build. Outpatient service and virtual care are also reimbursed at a lower rate than inpatient services, challenging the balance sheet. C-suite executives are…
