Duke LifePoint to form joint venture with Twin County Regional

Duke LifePoint Healthcare and Virginia-based Twin County Regional Healthcare (TCRH) have entered into a definitive agreement that will pump millions into TCRH and its community.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, $20 million in capital improvements will be invested in TCRH over the next decade. Duke LifePoint will own 80 percent and TCRH will retain a 20 percent ownership stake. The proceeds of the transaction, which is expected to close within 60 to 90 days, will allow TCRH to pay off its debts. Remaining proceeds, estimated to be around $10 million, will be used to create a charitable foundation to fund new programs and services in the community.

Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“The Twin County Regional Healthcare Board of Directors could not be more pleased about this joint venture with Duke LifePoint,” said Doug S. Vaught, chairman of the TCRH Board of Directors, in a statement. “When we began researching affiliation options for the hospital more than a year ago, it was our top priority to find a partner that would not only provide the financial and clinical resources we needed, but also would be a cultural fit with our organization. As a result of the due diligence process, our board is even more confident that the joint venture with Duke LifePoint is right for us and our community.”

The joint venture with TCRH will be the fourth such transaction Duke LifePoint has completed since it was established nearly a year ago, said Michelle Weidner, a Duke LifePoint public relations representative, in an email.

[See also: Rural North Carolina hospital to join Duke LifePoint Healthcare.]

Duke LifePoint was formed by the Duke University Health System and LifePoint Hospitals to boost healthcare delivery in North Carolina and the surrounding region. At the close of the transaction, TCRH will become Duke LifePoint’s first hospital in Virginia.

“We are excited about the opportunity to extend Duke LifePoint’s reach into Virginia and partner with Twin County Regional Healthcare to advance healthcare in this region,” said William J. Fulkerson, Jr., MD, executive vice president of Duke University Health System, in a statement. “Through this new joint venture, we will work with TCRH to enhance its services to better meet the needs of its community today and into the future.”

Follow HFN associate editor Stephanie Bouchard on Twitter @SBouchardHFN.