Lincoln Health System (LHS) has been authorized by the Lincoln County Commission to enter a letter of intent with Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System. The 105-year-old hospital located in Fayetteville, Tennessee, is less than an hour from Huntsville Hospital.
The Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System is the second-largest hospital in Alabama, with an annual economic impact exceeding $1 billion.
In a statement to 256 Today, Jeff Samz, CEO of Huntsville Hospital touted the Lincoln County Commission vote.
“We are very pleased that the Lincoln County Commission voted unanimously in favor of Lincoln Health System’s intention to join Huntsville Hospital Health System,” Samz told 256 Today. “We’ve had a great relationship with the community and the hospital for many years. As a result of the county commission’s action, our hospitals will continue to finalize the proposed agreement, and then we will seek final approval from the State of Tennessee. These matters will take several months to complete. Hopefully, we will officially welcome Lincoln Health System into our family of hospitals on July 1.”
According to Russ Spray, chief executive officer of Lincoln Health System, the agreement to integrate LHS with Huntsville Hospital would allow them to expand services and improve their financial standings. Speaking at the Lincoln County Commission meeting last week, Spray outlined the challenges LHS has faced.
“It’s never been easy but it’s never been more difficult than now,” he advised.
According to Spray, from 2011 through 2020, there were 73 rural hospitals that closed in the United States, 10 of them in Tennessee.
Spray emphasized the contractual agreement guarantees access to health care for the next 40 years, plus up to four 10-year renewals of that same relationship.
“It’s a guarantee of health care for our community for the next 40 years.”
The proposal contains three agreements; a lease agreement, an integration agreement and an operating agreement. Spray said the transaction involves all five LHS facilities, the Medical Center, Ambulance Service, Home Health Hospice, Patrick Rehab and Wellness, and Donalson Care Center.
Spray explained, “The Lincoln County System retains ownership of the property, Huntsville is responsible for maintenance, repair and upkeep.”
LHS has been affiliated with the Huntsville Hospital System since 2018 in what Spray described as a very strong, very successful relationship and pointed out the shared values of the two systems.
“We are both not for profit, we both have the same mission and that’s to provide high quality, excellent healthcare to the communities we serve,” Spray outlined.
Samz also addressed the commission, stating the Huntsville Hospital Healthcare System exists to care for the people in the communities they serve.
“We do take the obligation very seriously,” said Samz. “It is our mission to provide good healthcare to your community. We do this in communities where we think we can make a difference and make each other better.”
Now that a letter of intent has been authorized, a filing must be submitted to the Tennessee attorney general to ensure the proposed transaction is in the best interest of the people.
The Huntsville Hospital Health System currently includes hospitals in Huntsville, Madison, Athens, Decatur, Sheffield, Moulton, Scottsboro, Guntersville, Boaz and Red Bay, employing 16,000 health care workers and staff systemwide. The system also serves as the regional referral center for North Alabama and South Central Tennessee, providing tertiary health care for a 15-county service area of more than 1.3 million people.
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