Leaders of Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced Friday the finalization of its acquisition of Tennova Healthcare-Shelbyville and Tennova Healthcare-Harton Tullahoma hospitals and their related businesses, including physician clinics and outpatient services from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems, Inc. The local healthcare facility on U.S. 231 North has been renamed Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital.

While terms of the transactions will remain confidential, according to VUMC, new signage has been unveiled. Those driving into the hospital parking lot can boldly see the facility's new name.

Through the acquisition, VUMC stated it has hired substantially all employees of the Shelbyville and Tullahoma hospitals who were "in good standing when transfer of the hospitals' ownership was complete." Vanderbilt officials said Monday that Bill Rich, current chief executive officer of Tennova-Shelbyville, remains on staff as CEO.

Despite this being a tough year with the pandemic, hospital officials said the transaction is only going to enhance local medical services. "The COVID pandemic has challenged everyone working in healthcare, said Jeff Balser, president and chief executive officer of VUMC and dean of Vanderbilt School of Medicine. "Welcoming these hospitals into Vanderbilt Health, and strengthening our ties to Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville, is a remarkable way to begin the new year. Together, we will work to support patients throughout Middle Tennessee as we continue to battle the pandemic and, longer-term, expand access to distinctive, personalized services to patients across our region."

VUMC acquired a minority ownership interest in affiliated Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville hospital and related physician practices through an agreement with Tennova's existing minority partner, GHS Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Clarksville Volunteer Health, Inc., a Clarksville nonprofit.

While the announcement was made of the acquisition back in early fall, the purchase of the local hospital by Vanderbilt Medical had to undergo standard regulations before finalization could be officially announced.

With the new addition, the partnership between Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville and VUMC is expected to create new opportunities to expand local medical resources for Clarksville, Montgomery County, and the surrounding region. For example, oncologists and a multidisciplinary team from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center currently provide care at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center at Tennova Clarksville, and the new partnership will facilitate the offering of a greater array of oncology services.

In a 2019 transaction with subsidiaries of CHS, VUMC acquired Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon, a 274-bed hospital in Lebanon, Tennessee, now called Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital. Through this transaction, VUMC will be able to continue the work it has begun with Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital in extending the benefits of academic medicine-cutting edge treatments and the knowledge that comes from research and education-to the residents of Bedford, Coffee, Montgomery, Rutherford, and Sumner counties.

C. Wright Pinson, Vanderbilt deputy chief executive officer and chief health system officer said, "Today marks an exciting step for our health system. As we begin the new year, I want to welcome the physicians, nurses and staff of Vanderbilt Bedford and Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton hospitals into the VUMC family. I also want to extend greetings to our colleagues with Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville. We have important work ahead that is crucial to health and well-being in these communities, and I look forward to working with leaders at these facilities toward the goals we share."

Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital is a 60-bed, Joint Commission-accredited facility that employs approximately 275 physicians, nurses and staff and offers a range of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services, along with urgent care services. The hospital is certified by the American Heart Association.

After almost 60 years of service to the citizens of Bedford County in its original facility, a new hospital was constructed in 2008. In 2019, nearly 1,000 patients were admitted to the hospital and approximately 1,600 inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures were performed.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is one of the nation's leading academic medical centers and is one of the most comprehensive research, teaching and patient care health systems in the Southeast. The most heavily utilized healthcare facility in the Mid-South, VUMC has stated that it sees over 2.3 million patient visits per year in over 150 locations, discharging 66,000 inpatients and performing 67,000 surgical operations.