Paragould-based Arkansas Methodist Medical Center and Memphis, Tenn.-based Baptist Memorial Health Care plan to merge.
Five things to know:
- AMMC and Baptist announced April 22 the signing of a non-binding letter of intent to merge. The two organizations have similar values and community reputations, said Jason Little, Baptist Memorial’s president and CEO, in a news release.
- The two systems are in the early phases of the discussion but plan to finalize the agreement by early next year.
- Baptist Memorial, a $4.4 billion system, already has a presence in Arkansas and recently completed a merger with Anderson Regional Health System in Meridian, Miss. “By combining our organizations, we can expand the reach of sustainable and quality health care in the region while creating a strong organization with size, scale, technology and intellectual capital to expand access to care while weathering future challenges,” said Mr. Little in a news release.
- If the transaction goes through, Brad Bloemer, CEO of AMMC, said the hospital would be able to bring in more specialists and specialty services as well as embark on facility modernization.
- Baptist Memorial has 24 hospitals in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas with more than 6,000 affiliated physicians and 22,000 employees. AMMC would add another hospital and more than 500 employees to the network.
