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New Owners of Marion County, Tenn., Hospital Seek to Add Physicians

Posted on: Thursday, 1 December 2005, 21:00 CST

By Dave Flessner, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn.

Dec. 2--The new owners of Marion County's only hospital said Thursday they want to boost physician recruitment in the Sequatchie Valley to help expand medical services in the Sequatchie Valley.

Capella Healthcare, one of the newest hospital chains in America, took over ownership Thursday of the Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, Tenn., from Hospital Corp. of America, the nation's biggest hospital chain. The Grandview acquisition was part of a $260 million purchase by the newly formed Capella for four HCA hospitals.

Tom Anderson, a former HCA executive who now serves as president of Capella, said the new owners expect to name a new chief executive at Grandview before the end of the year. The new owners already have elevated the hospital's comptroller, Warren Smith, to chief financial officer.

"We want to continue to spend some time in the area and understand the needs of the local community," Mr. Anderson said. "One thing we do know already is that we want to do more to recruit physicians to the hospital to make access to health care more readily available in the area."

HCA built Grandview along Interstate 24 in Jasper in 1999 to replace the aging South Pittsburg Hospital. The 70-bed hospital provides care for more than 50,000 residents in the Sequatchie Valley and surrounding areas and also operates the North Valley Medical Plaza in Dunlap, Tenn.

George Asbell, the outgoing CEO at Grandview, said the new owners want to better coordinate the Dunlap outpatient center with its supporting Jasper hospital.

"Cappella provides Grandview Medical Center with financial backing, technical support and specialized services to build on our current success," Mr. Asbell said in a prepared statement Thursday.

To lure more doctors into the hospital, Mr. Anderson said Capellla has hired Merritt Hawkins of Dallas to help with recruitment programs.

"They have a number of experts who work to identify physicians and try to match them up wtih specific locations, based upon their location and specialties," he said.

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HCA,

Source: Chattanooga Times/Free Press

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