CULLMAN — Cullman Regional Medical Center has announced plans to buy — and close — Woodland Medical Center on July 15.

Following that date, all Woodland patients will be referred to CRMC for treatment.

It is unclear how many of the 150 current Woodland employees will be retained, CRMC President and CEO Jim Weidner said, though some will have the opportunity to transfer to CRMC.

“We’re working hard to have those answers as soon as possible,” Weidner said in a phone interview Monday. “We want to make sure we take care of our employees, because they are the backbone of both Woodland and CRMC.”

Butch Naylor, Woodland CEO, said employees will be offered job-hunting assistance, as well as help applying at Woodland affiliated hospitals in Alabama and around the southeast.

“A hospital may just be bricks and mortar, but it’s really about the people,” Naylor said. “We’re doing whatever we can to make sure our people come first.”

The price paid and terms of the purchase agreement were not released, as CRMC officials cited a confidentiality agreement with Woodland regarding the deal.

“We can easily afford it and can’t afford not to do it,” Healthcare Authority of Cullman County Chairman Stephen Donaldson said.

Though hospital officials would not confirm the details of the sale, Cullman County Commission Chairman James Graves said he was told Woodland was purchased for approximately $3.5 million in a briefing held last week with CRMC representatives.

“Woodland made the offer,” he said. “Woodland is in dire financial straits. They have been losing a significant amount of funds … In buying Woodland, CRMC made an essentially wise move.”

Donaldson said the overall consolidation should be a benefit to the people of Cullman county.

“By competing with each other, we can become marginalized and it hurts our efficiency,” he said. “By consolidating, we can enhance our services and invest in better technology and recruit new physicians … We feel this should bring us all together to deliver a better product.”

Weidner said the move should make operations more efficient, as Woodland is currently operating at 25 percent capacity, while CRMC is operating at approximately 65 percent capacity.

“We believe this makes perfect sense to consolidate,” he said. “We will have one facility running at a very efficient level.”

Weidner said he anticipates the hospital will be able to handle the influx of new patients, as CRMC is currently in the midst of an emergency room expansion.

“We’ve looked at the patient surge we expect to get and we’re confident we have the people and processes in place to offer the same fast and efficient care,” he said. “My hope is that every patient who has had a positive experience at Woodland will have one at CRMC.”

Even though the purchase will officially close in July, Weidner said CRMC has yet to decide exactly what will happen to the Woodland campus once operations are suspended.

“We don’t know specifically,” he said. “First, we’ll be suspending operations, then we’ll determine what the best use for that facility will be … Though, we do know Woodland will no longer operate as medical and surgical acute care hospital.”

One major issue that could arise from the consolidation is the loss of the psychiatric program at Woodland. Weidner said CRMC is checking with state and federal regulatory groups to decide how to proceed with the possible closing of the psychiatric facility.

“A lot will depend on what the state says and our ability to operate a psychiatric facility at Woodland or at (the CRMC) campus,” he said. “We just don’t have a solid answer right now.”

Donaldson said the consolidation in a “small market” like Cullman reflects a national trend to combine services for cost efficiency.

“In today’s economy and with all the healthcare reform going on in Washington, D.C., hospitals must find smarter, better and more efficient ways to make use of dwindling resources while continuing to provide top quality care,” Donaldson said via press release. “Cullman County residents will benefit greatly.”

Donaldson said discussions between CRMC and Woodland-owner Capella Healthcare regarding the sale began in April, 2008. This sale will mark approximately the fifth time the hospital has changed hands since opening in 1974, with Capella buying Woodland from Community Health Systems on March 1, 2008.



‰ Patrick McCreless contributed to this story.



‰ Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.