TEXARKANA, Texas - Steward Health Care System, LLC, the company that owns Wadley Regional Medical Center here, has agreed to acquire five health care operations in Florida, according to the company. The sale, announced last week, is estimated at $1.1 billion.
The hospitals include Coral Gables Hospital, Florida Medical Center, Hialeah Hospital, North Shore Medical Center and Palmetto General Hospital. These are situated in the greater Miami, Dade and southern Broward counties.
Tenet Healthcare sold off these properties, but will continue to provide revenue cycle management services, according to an article by Fierce Healthcare, a healthcare news provider.
Tenet Healthcare is based in Dallas.
Physician-owned Steward Health Care, founded in 20210, is also based in Dallas. It currently owns 44 hospitals - 39 in the U.S. and five in Malta and Colombia. It's network includes more than 5,50o health care providers and 43,000 health care professionals.
In mid-May, Wadley, Steward's hospital here, announced it would breaking ground on a new 123-bed hospital north of Interstate 30 at the corner of University Avenue and West Park Boulevard.
The new $227 million-facility is scheduled to open in May 2024. It will feature a medical office building and a full range of hospital services, including a 24/7 emergency room, orthopedics, cardiovascular area, neurosurgery, maternity care and a number of outpatient services. The hospital will have 123 beds with the ability to expand to 291.
The new hospital is 254,000 square feet and the medical office building should be 143,000 square feet.
Wadley Regional Medical Center purchased 55 acres north of Interstate 30 about five years ago.
Wadley has served this region for about 120 years and has been at 1000 Pine Street since the late 1950s. However, Wadley no longer owns the Pine Street building. It is leased from a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) that purchased it several years ago.
During the May 11 announcement here, Dr. Sanjay Shetty, president of Steward North America, said Wadley's move was "a testament to the city's dynamic and forward-thinking strategic growth."
Shetty told employees gathered for the event that a groundbreaking is planned for September, and construction is expected to take about 32 months, if weather conditions don't interfere.
Tom Gilbert, president of Wadley Regional Medical Center, said the decision to build has been a "long time coming."
Steward's operations in South Florida will also be under the direction of Shetty. The transaction with Tenet is expected to close in the third quarter, once regulators sign off and other closing conditions are met.