LifePoint buying Woods Memorial Hospital in Etowah

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo The exterior of Woods Memorial Hospital on U.S. 411, just north of downtown Etowah, Tenn.
Arkansas-North Carolina Live Blog

A growing Brentwood, Tenn.,-based hospital chain has agreed to take over Woods Memorial Hospital in Etowah, Tenn., under an asset purchase agreement announced Monday.

LifePoint Hospitals, which operates 10 hospitals in Tennessee including facilities in Athens, Winchester and Sewanee, expects to complete its acquisition of Woods Memorial within the next 30 days

Woods Memorial Hospital chief Steve Clapp said Monday in a statement that the board has been exploring ways to strengthen the facility for the future.

"LifePoint Hospitals is an attractive partner for our hospital because of its financial strength, extensive experience in operating community hospitals like ours, and significant presence in this region," Clapp said. "We are confident that LifePoint is the right partner for Woods Memorial and our community."

The transaction is expected to be completed in about 30 days, subject to customary closing conditions. The specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed in a news release about the planned sale.

Michael Clark, division president for Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint, said Woods Memorial is a crucial source of health care services for Etowah and the surrounding area.

"We are excited for the hospital to join LifePoint's network and to partner with its team to improve health care throughout this region," he said.

Woods Memorial is a 72-bed hospital. Late last decade, it was sold to a doctor's consortium for $4 million. The hospital said it has about 300 full-time employees and a medical staff of more than 75 physicians.

Woods Memorial provides inpatient and outpatient services, including general and orthopedic surgery, urology, geropsychiatry, wound care, and other diagnostic testing.

The campus also includes McMinn Memorial Nursing Home, an 88-bed facility licensed to provide long-term and skilled nursing care.

Founded in 1999, LifePoint has 55 hospital campuses, primarily in rural communities, in 18 states and generated $3.5 billion in revenues last year.