Baptist Health Signs Long-term Lease With Malvern Hospital

Baptist Health announced that it will begin a long-term lease agreement with Hot Spring County Medical Center in Malvern, on Jan. 1.

At that time the hospital will be named Baptist Health Medical Center-Hot Spring County and will become Baptist Health’s eighth hospital.

“It’s been more than a year since Hot Spring County Medical Center invited Baptist Health to consider partnership options, and we’re excited that the efforts to develop a formal relationship have been successful,” said Baptist Health CEO Russ Harrington.

“Baptist Health is eager to serve Hot Spring County by providing residents of this area with the comprehensive services and resources that our healthcare system has to offer. We have a proven track record of showing our long-term commitment to supporting Arkansas communities,” he added.

Hot Spring County Medical Center is a community-based hospital with approximately 360 employees and is licensed for 72 acute-care beds. Hot Spring County Medical Center has been owned and operated by Hot Spring County since it opened in 1923.

“Baptist Health was our board’s first choice from the beginning, and we’re very pleased the Quorum Court has supported this choice,” said Sheila Williams, CEO of Hot Spring County Medical Center. “Baptist Health will complement the excellent patient care that this community has come to expect, and I know our employees look forward to being a part of such a highly respected system as Baptist Health.”

Little Rock-based Baptist Health employs more than 7,300 workers at operating seven hospitals, not including Hot Spring County Medical Center.