Baptist Health announced this week it has signed a letter of intent to acquire and operate Hardin Memorial Health.
The letter of intent is a non-binding agreement, which follows a two-year long HMH process of exploring potential affiliations and authorizes both parties to move forward with necessary steps to pursue a proposed acquisition. Terms of the letter are confidential, according to officials. Following due diligence and the negotiation process, projected to take several months, the terms of the final agreement will be made public.
The HMH Board of Trustees voted in August to sign the letter with Louisville-based Baptist Health as its future partner, subject to due diligence, the negotiation of definitive transaction documents and appropriate regulatory approvals. The parties are familiar with each other. For the past 20 years through a series of agreements, Baptist Health has provided management services for the county-owned hospital and its health system.
Hardin County Judge-Executive and Chairman of the HMH Board of Trustees Harry Berry said the challenge for independent, county-owned hospitals such as HMH, faced with a demanding and uncertain environment of increased costs and declining reimbursements, is to continue to ensure that clinical expertise and capital investment keep pace with local demands for the highest level of health care.
HMH operates more than 45 outpatient facilities, including a Cancer Care Center and Outpatient Surgical Center, in its 10-county area. Since 1997, it has been managed by Baptist Health. The 300-bed hospital in Elizabethtown includes 270 acute-care, 15 psychiatric and 15 skilled-nursing beds. Additionally, HMH is the third largest employer in Hardin County with 2,389 employees and a volunteer corps of 119.
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