Commissioners Approve Mountain States' Purchase of Unicoi County Memorial Hospital

The Unicoi County Commission in Erwin, Tenn., has unanimously approved the sale of Unicoi County Memorial Hospital to Johnson City, Tenn.-based Mountain States Health Alliance, according to a Johnson City Press report.

The commission also approved an acknowledgement of a contribution agreement involving the hospital, the county and MSHA. Under the agreement, MSHA is set to provide the county with $750,000 when closing the transaction, according to the report.

Last month, the hospital board voted unanimously to accept an additional $1 million line of credit from MSHA. MSHA initially provided a $2 million line of credit after the Unicoi hospital board voted to move forward with an acquisition proposal from MSHA in November 2012, according to the report. That line of credit for operational costs — which was exhausted in July — was included in the acquisition proposal.

The credit acceptance followed the hospital board's vote earlier in July to accept MSHA's proposal to acquire the public-owned hospital. The Erwin, Tenn., Board of Mayor and Alderman also voted to approve the sale.

Wellmont Health System, based in Kingsport, Tenn., submitted an acquisition bid for Unicoi but said it considers both its bid and MSHA's bid null and void due to legal issues with the UCMH board's selection process.

The hospital board and MSHA had originally reached a definitive agreement in April, but the UCMH board met to reconsider both proposals after the Tennessee attorney general's office delayed the acquisition in June due to concerns over open meeting laws and lack of approval from local authorities.

More Articles on Unicoi Memorial Hospital:
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