Capella sells Ala. facility

Purchaser plans to shutter the acute-care hospital effective in July

Email | Print By Walker Duncan

Capella Healthcare has agreed to sell its acute-care facility in Cullman, Ala., according to local reports. The 100-bed hospital, purchased by the larger Cullman Regional, will be shuttered in July.

Terms of the deal for Woodland Medical Center were not disclosed, but they have become a subject of dispute in the local coverage. The original article on the deal quotes the Cullman County Commission Chairman as saying the price tag was rumored to be about $3.5 million. Officials from both Cullman Regional and Woodland, however, later disputed that figure. Later, the chairman backed off saying that the $3.5 million figure was simply a rumored price.

Sources familiar with the deal and reached by NashvillePost.com this morning have indicated that the sale price was, in fact, north of that figure but declined to provide further detail. Franklin-based Capella acquired Woodland as part of its $315 million purchase of nine Community Health Systems facilities last year.

The company's disposition apparently comes after “years of consideration by both hospitals about how to best collaborate and improve healthcare services” in the county. Both facilities have historically run well below capacity, with Woodland clocking in at 25 percent and CRMC hovering around 65 percent.

With the closure of this facility, Capella now has 13 facilities spread across seven states. According to representatives of Capella, the company has no plans to sell any of its other facilities calling this deal "a very unique situation."