Atlanta group could take over Augusta University hospitals

ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta-area hospital system could take over the hospitals affiliated with Georgia's only public medical school under a deal announced Tuesday.

Augusta University Health System said it signed a letter of intent to join the Marietta-based nonprofit Wellstar Health System.

Any deal is far from final though, and spokespersons on Tuesday said they could not answer key questions, including how much Wellstar might pay to take over the system's hospitals.

It would be part of a series of hospital mergers in Georgia and nationwide, as standalone hospitals become large enough systems to afford massive investments in electronic record systems — and also have the market power to negotiate more lucrative payment agreements with insurers.

Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare took over a three-hospital system based in Augusta earlier this year, pledging to invest more than $1 billion in upgrades and expansions over the next 10 years. That nonprofit group was named University Hospital, although it wasn’t controlled by Augusta University.

Augusta University Health System runs the 478-bed Augusta University Medical Center and the 154-bed Children's Hospital of Georgia, both in Augusta. It also has regulatory approval to build a 100-bed hospital in Grovetown, in the growing Columbia County suburbs of Augusta. The system also runs the Georgia Cancer Center in Augusta, and Roosevelt Warm Springs Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospitals in Warm Springs.

The news release announcing the letter of intent suggested the deal could help pay for the Columbia County hospital and upgrade other AU Health System facilities.

“This is good news for the Augusta region and for health care across our state,” Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted. “It means more doctors and medical service providers, more...