Huntsville Hospital has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Parkway Medical Center of Decatur from Capella Healthcare of Franklin, Tenn., which also owns Hartselle Medical Center.

Kathy Goodwin, director of marketing and community events at HMC, said this move would not directly affect HMC or its relationship with Parkway Medical Center.

“Our hospital will continue to fulfill its mission to give our patients the best care possible,” Goodwin said. “We will continue to work with Parkway Medical Center in the future. We have a good relationship with them as we have also with Huntsville Hospital.”

The Enquirer has obtained a copy of an email memorandum sent by Mark Medley, president of Capella’s hospital division, to all HMC employees. The memo states that Monday’s announcement was about doing what is best for Decatur.

“This was a difficult decision, but we believe Huntsville Hospital is the right partner for Parkway going forward,” Medley said in the email. “As you know, Hartselle and Parkway have achieved great efficiencies in a variety of shared services over the past year or so. To make sure we don’t skip a beat here at Hartselle, we have an agreement in place with Huntsville Hospital to assist us with those services through a transition period.”

Medley also said Tim McGill, market CEO of HMC, will be assisting in the transition at Parkway for the next few weeks and then will remain the CEO of Hartselle after the sale is completed on Jan, 1, 2012.

Capella executives said this is best for Parkway Medical Center because it will ensure a stronger, more collaborative health care system for Decatur and position Parkway for a bright future.

“We are proud of how Parkway has grown in the time that Capella has been a part of the community,” said Dan Slipkovich, Capella Healthcare CEO. “Parkway’s employees and physicians deserve a great deal of credit for achieving high marks in quality outcomes and patient satisfaction, despite the economic pressures that have weighed on hospitals nationwide. Together, we have taken care to the next level, adding new services and technology, recruiting new physicians and growing market share. We know that excellent care will continue under Huntsville Hospital’s leadership.”

Add to this that Alabama is one of the toughest reimbursement environments in the nation. In fact, effective Jan. 1, Morgan County, Alabama will have the lowest Medicare wage index in the country. This means that hospitals in Morgan County will be paid the lowest in the nation to treat Medicare patients. It is clear that in the near future, healthcare providers must have considerable size – such as the network of hospitals and providers created by Huntsville Hospital – to survive and thrive in this state.

Parkway Medical Center is licensed for 120 beds and employs more than 300 people. The hospital’s medical staff includes 139 physicians, many of whom also have privileges on the medical staff at Decatur General. Huntsville Hospital, and its affiliate institutions represent more than 1,500 hospital beds, 9,000 employees and a thousand physicians across North Alabama.