Mercy has transferred ownership of the 282-bed Mercy Hot Springs in Hot Springs, Ark., and its physician clinic to St. Vincent Health System of Little Rock, Ark.
The hospital, which has been renamed St. Vincent Hot Springs, now is part of St. Vincent's regional network that also includes three hospitals, an outpatient campus, a network of clinics and other operations around central Arkansas. The St. Vincent system is part of Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives.
The St. Vincent system said the employment status of current Mercy Hot Springs physicians and employees will not change. St. Vincent said it will preserve the core health care services the hospital offers, the charity care it provides and medical staff privileges.
CHI executive Thomas Fitz is interim president of the facility. He previously has served as an interim leader for other hospitals. Prior to serving at CHI, Fitz was chief executive of St. Mary's Hospital and Health Care System in Athens, Ga.
The systems did not disclose terms of the sale.
Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy had been in negotiations in 2012 to sell the Hot Springs hospital as well as its physician clinic system and cancer center to the Franklin, Tenn.-based, for-profit Capella Healthcare, but those talks ended last summer. Last fall, Mercy and CHI announced their negotiations.
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