Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System and the Fayette County Hospital Board will not move forward an existing lease agreement between the organizations to operate Fayette Medical Center.
The 20-year lease agreement, which is set to expire Sept. 30, 2027, went into effect in October 2007, according to a news release shared with Becker’s.
“The financial realities of delivering health care, particularly in rural settings, have changed tremendously over the past two decades” Katrina Keefer, president and CEO of DCH Health Care Authority, said in the release. “Those realities make the continuation of the existing relationship with Fayette County Hospital Board impossible to maintain.”
DCH and the county hospital board plan to engage with a third party to assess the financial, legal and operational implications of the lease’s end. They will also evaluate options for the hospital, clinics and nursing home’s ongoing operations.
Fayette Medical Center is open with operations to continue through the end of the lease term as usual. No staffing or personnel changes are planned.
DCH Health System is a nonprofit organization that includes Fayette Medical Center, Tuscaloosa-based DCH Regional Medical Center and Northport (Ala.) Medical Center, the release said.
