In a unanimous vote, the Fayette County Memorial Hospital (FCMH) Board of Trustees recently adopted a motion to move forward with a plan for Adena Health System to acquire the 25-bed critical access hospital.

“Our board felt so strongly that Adena Health System was the right fit for this community and for this hospital that we reengaged both Adena and the county commissioners a few months ago to see if we could reach an agreement for Adena to acquire our facility,” said FCMH Board of Trustees President Brian Ream.

In October, Adena had announced that FCMH would not become a full member of its health system and would remain an affiliate partner. However, further discussion and communication changed the ultimate outcome.

“As a board, we believed it was in the best interest of the hospital to find a partner that could strengthen our operational foundation while protecting the delivery of high quality care in our community and ensuring ongoing work for our employees,” said Ream. “Adena has demonstrated their dedication to Fayette County and FCMH for several years through our clinical affiliation agreement. It seems only natural that acquisition and full membership in the Adena Health System would be the next step.”

Pending agreement of the Fayette County Commissioners and Adena Health System Board of Trustees, Adena would begin a management agreement of FCMH operations on Feb. 15, with targeted completion of the transaction April 1, making Adena Fayette Medical Center the fourth hospital in its system.

The cost of the acquisition has not been disclosed yet. More information is expected to be released in the coming days once the agreement is finalized.

According to Fayette County Commissioner Dan Dean, the acquisition isn’t official yet but during the Fayette County Commissioners’ meeting on Monday, a resolution of intent was approved which essentially states the county’s intent to see the contract negotiations through and come to a successful conclusion with Adena.

“We’re getting close to coming to a deal that will keep a hospital here in Fayette County,” said Dean. “We can’t approve the contracts yet, because they aren’t finalized. We can approve the part that says ‘we’re getting there and we’ll see them through to a conclusion.’”

Adena has been collaborating with FCMH since 2017, with providers delivering a wide range of close-to-home specialty care within FCMH facilities. The two organizations inked a formal partnership affiliation agreement in September 2018, and have expanded the volume of specialty care being offered at the hospital’s Washington Court House campus. These specialty services include: cardiology, dermatology, Nephrology, neurology, Ob/Gyn, oncology, orthopedics, pulmonology and urology.

Stay with the Record-Herald website, www.recordherald.com, and the print edition for more on this developing story.