TEMPLE, Texas, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A unique partnership between Scott & White Healthcare and Walmart will take the Central Texas health care system into new territory, marking its first formal relationship with an international retailer for the purpose of providing health care.

Walmart recently inducted Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas, into the retailer's Centers of Excellence program, along with five other leading hospitals in the nation: Cleveland Clinic; Geisinger Medical Center; Mayo Clinic; Mercy Hospital Springfield (Missouri); and Virginia Mason Medical Center. Scott & White Memorial Hospital is the only Texas health care provider to be designated by Walmart as a Center of Excellence.

The Centers of Excellence initiative offers Walmart associates access to heart, spine, and transplant surgeries at facilities geographically located across the country. Scott & White will receive spine and heart patients at Memorial Hospital starting in January.

"As an integrated delivery system with a reputation for providing quality care and possessing superior diagnostic capabilities, Scott & White's goal is to be among the leaders in transforming health care," said Robert W. Pryor, MD, MBA. "Our partnership with Walmart reflects a mutual commitment to combining quality with value."

The Scott & White partnership with Walmart is an example of the type of industry innovation that can provide high quality care with the potential to reduce health care costs. "Our approach to delivering high quality care is in step with the Walmart philosophy," said Dr. Pryor. "It's about the right care, at the right place, at the right time."

In addition to offering outstanding patient care, Scott & White Memorial Hospital provides a location that Walmart associates may find familiar. The hospital anticipates receiving many patients from New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida who are accustomed to smaller-sized communities with convenient access to amenities.

Walmart associates and their caregivers will receive logistical assistance for travel to Temple and housing arrangements for the recovery period. Ongoing care or rehabilitation will be coordinated between the team of Scott & White physicians and advanced practice professionals treating the patient in Temple and the associate's personal physician back home.

About Scott & White Healthcare (sw.org) Scott & White Healthcare is a non-profit collaborative health care system established in 1897 in Temple, Texas. Among the leading health systems encompassing one of the nation's largest multi-specialty group practices, Scott & White provides personalized, comprehensive health care enhanced by medical education and research. Scott & White Healthcare includes 12 hospital sites with two additional announced facilities, and 143 clinics at more than 65 clinic locations throughout Central Texas providing adult and pediatric care in 46 medical specialties. Integrated, high-quality care is delivered by a dedicated staff of more than 12,000 (including 1,000 physicians and scientists and more than 300 specialized health care providers).

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Scott & White Healthcare, Walmart join forces