Jennie Stuart Medical Center will become a subsidiary of Deaconess Health, creating a change in ownership for the first time in the Hopkinsville hospital’s 110-year history.
Officials with Jennie Stuart Health and Deaconess jointly announced in a press release Tuesday that the two nonprofit hospital organizations entered into a “definitive agreement” and that the transaction is expected to close by Aug. 1. The announcement follows the resolution of a lawsuit that was filed in December by the group Save Jennie Stuart, which opposed the acquisition.
“Under the terms of the agreement, Deaconess has committed to invest at least $95 million in Jennie Stuart and has pledged to fully fund JSH’s transition to Deaconess’s electronic health records (“EHR”) platform — priority initiatives that will benefit the health system’s patients, caregivers and local community,” the press release states.
In addition, Deaconess said it will “maintain all of Jennie Stuart’s current services and offerings and help Jennie Stuart expand its capabilities by bringing in more specialists and offering treatments that might have previously required patients to travel outside their community.”
“The intent is to keep patient care closer to home,” the release states.
Officials said Deaconess will also:
- Contribute $5 million to the Jennie Stuart Health Foundation at the closing, and will commit additional support to the foundation following closing.” (Save Jennie Stuart member Dan Kemp told Hoptown Chronicle in an interview Monday that Deaconess has agreed to provide a total of $10 million to the foundation — $5 million initially and the remaining amount over a period of time.)
- Retain “all active employees and maintain salaries, wages and benefits as of closing.”
- Support “community-focused decision making” with a board of trustees to include 12 members, in addition to three Deaconess-appointed board members. Also, Jennie Stuart’s current management team will continue to lead local operations.
“This milestone will ensure Jennie Stuart can deliver even better health care for our communities for our next 100 years,” Jennie Stuart CEO and President Eric Lee said in the release. “Given our common mission and shared commitment to community-based health care, as well as Deaconess’s strong commitment to expand and invest in core services in Hopkinsville, Jennie Stuart has a brighter future ahead. We are strengthening what makes Jennie Stuart special — we will continue to provide compassionate and high-quality care to all our patients, and I deeply thank our caregivers for remaining dedicated to caring for our patients every single day.”
Shawn McCoy, Deaconess CEO, said, “We are excited to take this important next step to help empower Jennie Stuart caregivers and strengthen patient care in the local community. Through this process, I’ve had the chance to get to know many Jennie Stuart team members and have seen firsthand their dedication to providing quality care every day. With greater capital investment and the adoption of best-in-class technology, this highly qualified team can better serve patients and improve the standard of care locally for many years to come.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
