The Savannah, Ga.-based Memorial Health board of directors and the Chatham County Hospital Authority approved Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings' proposal to purchase Memorial University Medical Center, also in Savannah.
The deal will reportedly cost HCA $710 million. The price includes a $430 million purchase fee to pay off the medical center's bonds and debts, and an additional $280 million over the next 10 years for non-routine and routine capital expenditures, according to the Savannah Morning News. All other proceeds from the sale will go to the Chatham County Hospital Authority to create an indigent care trust fund, according to the report.
As part of the deal, HCA will maintain the facility's core services, including its Level 1 trauma care, Level 3 neonatal intensive care unit and the affiliated Mercer University School of Medicine Savannah Campus located at the medical center. HCA will also retain the medical center's brand and related programs, according to the Morning News.
Officials told the Morning News they expect to close the deal this fall.
"Earlier this year, the Memorial Board and the CCHA commissioned a search for a strategic partner to assume and stabilize the hospital's operations. A joint committee of the Memorial Board and CCHA conducted an extensive review of potential partners who would be committed to investing in the future of Memorial Health," J. Curtis Lewis, chairman of the Memorial Health board, said in a statement. "Memorial is an important community asset that provides critical healthcare access to 35 counties in Georgia and South Carolina and our board is excited to find a partner that will complement and support our mission."