Celebrating Portage Health and LifePoint merger

After months of negotiations, the Portage Health Board of Directors and LifePoint Hospitals have finalized their joint venture agreement to share ownership and operation of Portage Health.

A small event was held Monday at Portage Health Hospital in Hancock to celebrate the merger of LifePoint Hospitals and Portage Health.  Executives, doctors, and nurses were in attendance, including LifePoint CEO Bill Carpenter who says the merger is a great benefit to the Portage Health community.

“What LifePoint Hospitals can bring are some resources of a large organization, both financial as well as resources of support personnel who can help to implement the strategies that Portage Health has in place,” Carpenter said.

The new Portage Health will be jointly owned with LifePoint controlling 80% and 20% for the Portage Health Foundation.  But the board will be made up equally of representatives from both sides.

Portage Health CEO Jim Bogan says LifePoint is providing a lot of financial support in this partnership.

“We are going to be partnering with LifePoint to allow for $60 million in additional capital over a ten year period,” said Bogan. “We’re also going to be having proceeding of roughly $40 million that will be going to the Portage Health Foundation to be used in the future. The earnings off of that endowment will be used to support health–related projects in our community.”

Both Carpenter and Bogan pointed out that no immediate changes will be made to consumer policies or the employment of those who work at Portage Health.