A Hart County hospital is being acquired by The Medical Center of Bowling Green.
At an announcement in Horse Cave Monday morning, the leadership of Caverna Memorial Hospital said it had agreed to the deal, which will be complete by the end of the year. Under the plan, Caverna Memorial will be known as The Medical Center at Caverna.
Caverna Memorial has been independently operated since 1967, and is a 25-bed, non-profit critical access hospital.
The Medical Center executive vice-president Wade Stone says the increasingly complex and expensive nature of health care is making it tough for rural hospitals to remain independently-operated.
“It’s making sense for hospitals like Caverna—small rural hospitals—to start looking for options in terms of partnering, or being part of an acquisition, to make sure they have the resources they need to survive long-term.”
Stone says The Medical Center has “every intention” of retaining the estimated 100 employees at Caverna Memorial following the acquisition.
“I would point out that we’ve so impressed by the staff they have,” Stone told WKU Public Radio. “They care for their patients, and they’re very compassionate.”
Once the deal is complete, Caverna Memorial will become the fifth hospital in south-central Kentucky run by Commonwealth Health Corporation, the parent company of The Medical Center.
