The addition of the two-campus system brings Piedmont's hospital count to 10, up from five just three years ago.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony officially marked Piedmont Healthcare's acquisition of Columbus Regional Health on Thursday, with leaders from both systems joining employees and community members for the occasion.
The addition of the two-campus system, which will now be known as Piedmont Columbus Regional, brings the Atlanta-based system's hospital count to 10, up from five just three years ago. And it gives Piedmont a footprint in western Georgia, where the organization is looking to establish a third regional hub around which to grow its operation.
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“We are excited about the many possibilities and new opportunities the partnership with Piedmont will bring to our patients, our employees, our medical staff partners and our community as a whole. We have worked hard to put our patients and our employees first over the past number of years, in addition to positioning our organization for growth and improvement," Piedmont Columbus Regional CEO Scott Hill said in a statement.
“Being a clinical hub within Piedmont will make that a reality for us in many ways,” Hill added. “We know Piedmont is the right partner for not only Columbus Regional Health, but for the entire Chattahoochee Valley Region. Today is a great celebration of this partnership.”
The two systems signed a letter of intent last May, which the boards and hospital authority governing each organization approved last October. Approval from the Federal Trade Commission came in January, and the Georgia Attorney General's Office signed off last month.
Piedmont committed to taking on about $280 million in Columbus Regional’s debt and investing heavily in the Columbus market, while other organizations pursue mergers and acquisitions of their own in the region.
Steven Porter is an associate content manager and Strategy editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.