FMC board OKS Atrium deal
♦ The merger proposal now heads to the state Attorney General’s office for review.
The last pieces of the puzzle are falling into place for the long-awaited merger between Floyd Healthcare Management and Atrium Health.
The board of directors of the Hospital Authority of Floyd County voted to approve a membership substitution, essentially a merger between two healthcare entities, during a called meeting Friday evening.
The member substitution agreement, once executed, establishes Atrium Health Georgia Inc., a subsidiary of the Charlottemecklenburg Hospital Authority, as the sole member of Floyd Healthcare Management Inc.
The board also approved the restatement of the lease agreement between the Hospital Authority of Floyd County, the owner of the Floyd Medical Center building and property, and Floyd Healthcare Inc.
The two motions went forward without opposition.
“Today’s vote is the next step in our strategic combination with Atrium Health. We now are prepared to file our member substitution agreement with the Georgia Attorney General’s office for approval, setting the stage for final approval in late June or early July,” Dr. George Bosworth, the chair of Floyd Healthcare Management Inc., said in a statement.
“After more than a year of review, due diligence and organizational discussions, we are more confident than ever that Atrium Health is the right partner for Floyd to ensure that we can continue to provide the highest-quality medical care in our community for generations to come.”
The alliance, which is likely the largest business deal in Floyd County history, will likely pump in excess of $650 million dollars into the Floyd system over the next 11 years.
The process of review at the AG’S office takes 90 days.
Because the Floyd County and Polk County hospitals are not-for-profits, they must demonstrate to the state how the deal benefits the communities they serve, including providing safeguards for both public interest and financial security.
The Cedartown-polk Hospital Authority and the board of Polk Medical Center Inc. also voted Friday to amend and restate the lease agreement between the two entities, a condition that lays the groundwork for the submission of Floyd’s member substitution agreement with Atrium to the Georgia
Attorney General’s office for approval.
Another of Floyd’s hospitals, Cherokee Medical Center in Alabama, will not have to submit a proposal. Alabama does not have the same set of regulatory requirements.
The amount of the Polk Hospital Authority community foundation is expected to be at least $20 million at the time of the closing, according to a release from Floyd Healthcare Management.
In addition, Polk Medical Center will contribute onehalf of its earnings each year to the foundation until an additional $20 million dollars is reached.
The earnings from all of these contributions will be used on projects and initiatives that will address indigent care, disparities of care, social and other determinants of health, and other purposes — such as hospital equipment needs — to serve the Polk community.