SOUTH
NASHVILLE— Capella Healthcare, Franklin, Tenn., has finalized a joint venture with St. Thomas Health to jointly own and operate at least four Capella hospitals. The deal could potentially be expanded to include other facilities in the 60-county middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky region, according to a news release. The hospitals currently included under the deal are 125-bed River Park Hospital, Mcminnville; 42-bed White County Community Hospital, Sparta; 57bed Dekalb Community Hospital, Smithville; and 55-bed Stones River Hospital, Woodbury, all in Tennessee. St. Thomas will hold an equity interest in the facilities, while Capella will be the majority partner. Financial terms were not disclosed. The parties said they plan to make a $1 million investment to renovate the interior and exterior of White County Community Hospital, which changed its name to Highlands Medical Center on May 1. Other terms of the deal will see St. Thomas become the tertiary care partner for the four hospitals, and Capella will be the exclusive development partner for St. Thomas in the middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky region. St. Thomas is a five-hospital system affiliated with Ascension Health Ministry. Investorowned Capella currently operates 13 hospitals in seven states. St. Thomas and Capella announced in December that they had signed a letter of intent to negotiate a deal.
MORGANTON, N.C.— Broughton Hospital, a state-operated, 370-bed inpatient psychiatric facility in Morganton, N.C., recently broke ground on a $154.7 million, 477,000-square-foot facility, expected to be completed in October 2014. The four-story building, which will also be known as Broughton Hospital, will include patient-care units, administrative offices, patient support services and treatment areas, the hospital said. The 60-acre construction site is on Broughton’s existing 275-acre campus. The hospital’s current buildings, some of which are more than 100 years old, “will remain and be utilized for other department needs,” according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Funds for the building’s design, construction and outfitting came from special indebtedness bonds approved by the state’s general assembly. Hospital officials say the 378bed facility is planned to be fully operational by mid-2015.
KYLE, Texas— Arise Healthcare, an Austin, Texas-based developer, manager and owner of healthcare facilities, announced last month that it planned to open a surgery center in Kyle this fall. To be called Hays Surgery Center, the 13,000-squarefoot operation will have five operating rooms that will be able to accommodate a variety of procedures, including those in general orthopedics, gynecology, spine and pain-management, urology and weight-loss, according to a news release. Hays Surgery Center has signed a long-term lease to become a tenant in a 42,000-square-foot, $10 million medical office building under development across from the city’s only hospital, 53-bed Seton Medical Center Hays, according to the release. The center will be owned by local surgeons in a partnership with Arise, according to the release. The operators of the center hope to attract local patients who currently travel about 20 miles north to Austin for surgery.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark.— For-profit Capella Healthcare has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire St. Joseph’s Mercy Health System, according to a news release. Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella and Mercy, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic parent based in Chesterfield, Mo., will work toward a definitive deal to transfer ownership. St. Joseph’s includes 282-bed St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center in Hot Springs and an 80-physician practice. If the sale goes through, Mercy will be left with 23 hospitals in four states. “This agreement reflects our shared core values to provide high quality, cost-effective, compassionate healthcare for the regions we serve,” Daniel Slipkovich, chairman and CEO for Capella Healthcare, said in a news release. “We believe a more coordinated system will pave the way for improved quality and greater efficiencies in how we provide care.”