Specialty hospital will continue physician led, patient focused mission

 Bruce Murphy, MD, announced May 9th that his company, AR-MED, LLC, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase majority ownership of Arkansas Heart Hospital from MedCath Corporation. The transaction is expected to close in third quarter, 2011.

Arkansas Heart Hospital is a 112-bed specialty hospital, staffed by the state’s leading cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. The hospital opened in 1997 and has been recognized nationally for its physician-led, patient-focused care.

Murphy formed AR-MED after MedCath announced in 2010 that it planned to sell several major assets. Murphy will serve as president and primary shareholder of AR-MED, which is purchasing MedCath’s 70 percent ownership. Local physicians own the remaining 30 percent of the hospital.

“We wanted to maintain this asset for the community and felt the best way to accomplish this was through in-community, in-state ownership,” said Murphy. “The hospital will maintain a physician governance, which allows the medical staff to make patient-care decisions rapidly.”

“Instead of physicians merely being employed by the hospital, the physicians will be the owners of the hospital. This is a win-win for the patients and the entire community.”

Dr. Murphy will serve as Arkansas Heart Hospital Chairman, President and CEO. Plans are to combine Little Rock Cardiology Clinic with its 17 cardiologists and 30 satellite offices into Arkansas Heart Hospital. This will establish a statewide network for the hospital to provide cardiovascular care and treatment.

“We believe combining Arkansas Heart and Little Rock Cardiology Clinic will create the opportunity for growth and additional employment opportunities in the future,” said Murphy. “No jobs will be lost because of this transaction.”

“The success of Arkansas Heart Hospital is based on strong patient focused care provided by incredible nurses and staff combined with the region’s best cardiologists and surgeons. We are delighted this won’t change, but grow, particularly now with total local ownership.”

Tags:

Bookmark:

Facebook

Technorati

Newsvine

Google

Related: