A long term lease agreement has been finalized for Decatur General Hospital to become part of the Huntsville Hospital Health System on Sept. 1.

According to the terms of the 40-year agreement, HH will assume all the liability and responsibility for Decatur General’s operations and facilities for the term of the lease. This agreement will allow for Decatur General and Parkway Medical Center to operate as a single unit to meet the healthcare needs of Morgan County. Parkway Medical Center was acquired earlier this year by Huntsville Hospital. The consolidated operations will be named Decatur-Morgan Hospital.

David Spillers, Huntsville CEO, said that for the foreseeable future both hospitals would continue to operate as acute care facilities, but will now be able to work cooperatively to provide a more efficient and effective delivery system for the community.

Spillers said that the historic model where three hospitals existed in the county, all running at about 30 percent capacity, was unsustainable in today’s environment of falling payments and increasing cost of technology.

“We’ve been working toward this day for a long time and we are confident that this new approach will benefit the hospitals and patients in Morgan County,” said Spillers.

Spillers announced that Dean Griffin, current CEO of Decatur General, would serve as president of Decatur-Morgan Hospital and Nat Richardson, interim president of Parkway, would become the chief operating officer. Kim Shrewsbury, chief financial officer of Decatur General, will be the CFO of the new entity.

Griffin said, “We are pleased to be a part of this team effort to strengthen healthcare in our area. Huntsville Hospital Health System is a strong, community based, not-for-profit provider in our region that shares our same mission, vision and commitment to the community. Our patients and their families can rely on the same high quality healthcare and services we have always provided as we work together with Huntsville Hospital Health System and Parkway Medical Center to serve patients in Morgan County,” said Griffin.

Spillers said that a nine-member advisory board and a physician advisory board would be created for the new entity.

Info from www.parkwaymedicalcenter.com