Hendrick Health celebrates grand opening of Hendrick Service Center

On Thursday, Hendrick Health officials celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Hendrick Service Center, located at the Mall of Abilene, 4310 Buffalo Gap Road.

“We are happy that all the departments have moved-in and are now operational in the new Hendrick Service Center,” said Brad Holland, president and CEO for Hendrick Health. “Our new facility gives us operational efficiencies and is a convenient one-stop destination for customers for some nonclinical services such as business services and medical records.”

In May 2021, Hendrick Health announced the purchase of the former Sears building to open a shared service center to provide a centralized, accessible hub for nonclinical customer services. The building was vacant after Sears closed in March 2019.

More than a dozen departments supporting the Abilene hospitals and their customers have moved to the facility, including:

• Admissions (scheduling and insurance verification)
• Business Services/Billing
• Clinical Informatics
• Education
• Health Information Management
• Hendrick Clinic Access Center
• Hendrick Home Health
• Hendrick Medical Supply
• Human Resources/Employee Wellness (also has offices at each hospital)
• Information System Software Applications
• Medical Records/Release of Information
• Print Shop
• Purchasing
• Utilization Review
• Warehouse/Supply Chain

Extensive renovations have dramatically altered the interior of the two-story, 147,120-square-foot building. Notable design features include energy efficient LED-motion sensory lights, six new large windows on the second floor for more natural light, 400 white noise speakers in the second-floor ceiling to cancel sound and approximately 30 pieces of artwork by six local artists.

Approximately 440 of Hendrick’s 5,400 employees currently work at the Hendrick Service Center, which has the ability to expand to office more than 600 employees in total.

Hendrick Health’s employee staffing was 3,600 prior to the acquisition of Hendrick Medical Center South (HMCS) and Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood (HMCB) in October 2020. In some cases, HMCS and HMCB support staff positions based in Tennessee with their previous owner were moved to Abilene.

“With the acquisition of the two hospitals, centralizing some services made sense on many levels,” said Holland.

One example of synergy at the Hendrick Service Center is the Hendrick Clinic Access Center, which schedules appointments for 83 providers. Since May, five employees have been added to the department. In September and October, call volume increased more than 40% compared to a year ago, but hold wait times have dropped dramatically.

Customers who need access to medical records or release of information now can come to the East Entry at the Hendrick Service Center. Previously, the department was located on the second floor of Hendrick Medical Center.

Hendrick Medical Supply, which moved from a dated building on North Eight Street, now has a larger retail showroom at the Hendrick Service Center.

Another obvious efficiency is the Warehouse, which moved to the area of the building with three loading docks. Hendrick Health’s previous warehouse did not have a loading dock, and many supplies for not only the Abilene campuses but also HMCB arrive via tractor-trailer trucks. Deliveries now can be managed more effectively with the docks and an expanded storage area.

“Moving several of these nonclinical departments out of the hospitals also frees up space at the hospitals for clinical services,” said Holland.

Financial support for the Hendrick Service Center renovations includes an investment of more than $1.5 million from the Development Corporation of Abilene and a $1 million pledge from the Hendrick Medical Center Auxiliary for Volunteer Hall. Volunteer Hall is the largest conference room in the system, with seating for 318. It also can be divided into three smaller rooms. Hendrick Health events, such as new employee orientation, are hosted in the hall, as well as community programs.