Wellmont Officials Say Unicoi Hospital Sale Proposals Null and Void

Wellmont Health System, based in Kingsport, Tenn., has announced that it considers both its bid and the Johnson City, Tenn.-based Mountain States Health Alliance's bid to acquire Unicoi County Memorial Hospital in Ervin, Tenn., null and void due to legal issues with the UCMH board of control's selection process.

After conducting an internal legal analysis, Wellmont officials determined the selection process did not meet legal requirements. Consequently, Wellmont will not participate in an open meeting July 18.

"According to our legal advice, the proper remedy for these violations is for the board to issue another request for proposals and follow a legal, broad and transparent process from this point forward," said Denny DeNarvaez, president and CEO of Wellmont. "Merely re-evaluating the two proposals in an open meeting such as the one scheduled later this week is not sufficient."

UCMH recently decided to re-examine the two health systems' bids. The hospital board and Mountain States Health Alliance had reached a definitive agreement in April. However, 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. 

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