The Atlanta health system is expanding statewide and will reach 10 hospitals with pending Columbus Regional deal.
By Philip Betbeze
Piedmont Healthcare has reached another milestone as the boards and hospital authority that governs Columbus (Ga.) Regional Health approved the letter of intent that would merge the two systems, first announced last May.
The deal, which would bring under Piedmont’s control the 225-bed Columbus Regional Hospital’s two campuses, Midtown Medical Center and Northside Medical Center, would effectively represent a merger between the two systems. The deal’s closure now only awaits state attorney general approval, a decision expected in early 2018.
“Columbus Regional has a long history of delivering quality healthcare to the west Georgia community, and it’s a privilege to partner with them in these efforts,” said Kevin Brown, Piedmont’s president and CEO, in a press release. “This is an important step in achieving that goal.”
“We’re excited to move forward in the partnership process with Piedmont. We have worked together to create an agreement that honors the letter of intent we signed earlier this year,” said Scott Hill, CEO and president of Columbus Regional Health. “The Boards of Columbus Regional Health, Piedmont Healthcare and the Medical Center Hospital Authority have collaborated to bring us to the point where we’re poised to meet the healthcare needs of our community now, and well into the future.”
Like Columbus Regional a nonprofit organization, Piedmont has expanded aggressively within the state of late, and competed with several for-profit hospital companies and other nonprofits in an affiliation evaluation process last spring, before it was chosen by Columbus Regional’s board as the sole finalist for what they called a “strategic affiliation.”
Philip Betbeze is the senior leadership editor at HealthLeaders.