Leaders of Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced today the acquisition of Tennova Healthcare-Shelbyville and Tennova Healthcare-Harton hospitals and their related businesses, including physician clinic operations and outpatient services, from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS). Terms of the transactions will remain confidential.
Under VUMC’s ownership these facilities are now called Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital and Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital.
At the same time as the acquisition of these facilities, VUMC has acquired a minority ownership interest in CHS’s affiliated Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville hospital and related physician practices through an agreement with Tennova’s existing minority partner, GHS Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Clarksville Volunteer Health Inc., a Clarksville nonprofit.
“The COVID pandemic has challenged everyone working in healthcare. Welcoming these hospitals into Vanderbilt Health, and strengthening our ties to Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville, is a remarkable way to begin the New Year. Together, we will work to support patients throughout Middle Tennessee as we continue to battle the pandemic and, longer-term, expand access to distinctive, personalized services to patients across our region,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and CEO of VUMC and Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
The partnership between Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville and VUMC is expected to create new opportunities to expand local medical resources for Clarksville, Montgomery County, and the surrounding region. For example, oncologists and a multidisciplinary team from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center currently provide care at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Tennova Clarksville, and the new partnership will facilitate the offering of a greater array of oncology services.
With the acquisition of the hospitals in Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and the partnership with Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville, VUMC is expanding its ability to serve the communities of Middle Tennessee. In a 2019 transaction with subsidiaries of CHS, VUMC acquired Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon, a 274-bed hospital in Lebanon, Tennessee, now called Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital. Through this transaction, VUMC will be able to continue the work it has begun with Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital in extending the benefits of academic medicine — cutting edge treatments and the knowledge that comes from research and education — to the residents of Bedford, Coffee, Montgomery, Rutherford, and Sumner counties.
“Today marks an exciting step for our health system. As we begin the New Year, I want to welcome the physicians, nurses and staff of Vanderbilt Bedford and Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton hospitals into the VUMC family. I also want to extend greetings to our colleagues with Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville. We have important work ahead that is crucial to health and well-being in these communities, and I look forward to working with leaders at these facilities toward the goals we share,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC.
Through the acquisition, VUMC hired substantially all employees of the Shelbyville and Tullahoma hospitals who were in good standing when transfer of the hospitals’ ownership was complete. Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville and its employees and medical staff remain a part of the Tennova network of hospitals.
Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital is a 60-bed, Joint Commission-accredited facility that employs approximately 275 physicians, nurses and staff and offers a range of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services, along with urgent care services. The hospital is certified by the American Heart Association. After 60 years of service to the citizens of Bedford County in its original facility, a new hospital was constructed in 2008. In 2019, nearly 1,000 patients were admitted to the hospital and approximately 1,600 inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures were performed.
Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital employs approximately 450 physicians, nurses and staff, and is a 135-bed Joint Commission-accredited facility offering a full range of inpatient and outpatient surgical and specialty services including a sleep center, cardiac and physical rehabilitation. The hospital features an accredited Chest Pain Center. In 2017, the hospital celebrated 50 years of service to its community. In its most recent year, the hospital admitted nearly 3,500 patients and performed nearly 4,800 inpatient and outpatient procedures.
Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville is a 270-bed facility that features a comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient, medical and surgical services. Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville has been designated as an Accredited Chest Pain Center, a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care, a Wound Care Center of Distinction and earned the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission. The hospital also has a freestanding Emergency Room located a short distance from the hospital.
