North Carolina hospital wants acquisition by Tennessee firm

In this Jan. 5, 2016, staff file photo, the medical towers at Erlanger Medical Center are shown on the east side of the facility on Third Street near the intersection with Central Avenue in Chattanooga, Tenn. In this Jan. 5, 2016, staff file photo, the medical towers at Erlanger Medical Center are shown on the east side of the facility on Third Street near the intersection with Central Avenue in Chattanooga, Tenn.

By Staff and wire reports March 24, 2018 2 min read

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A North Carolina hospital says it expects no significant job losses if it is taken over by a Tennessee company, as it hopes.

The board at Mission Hospital in Asheville voted this week to be acquired by Nashville-based HCA Healthcare Inc. Mission executives said the move would provide the hospital a stronger position for years to come.

The merger with HCA by Mission Hospital comes as the Chattanooga-based Erlanger Health System prepares on April 1 to take over Murphy Medical Center nearby in the western North Carolina town of Murphy. The 25-bed Murphy Hospital agreed in January to merge with Erlanger to help provide stronger networks of physicians, surgeons and other medical services.

At Mission hospital, officials said there would be some changes in jobs and eliminations of some positions, but they said it should be nothing more than what would occur because of “market demand.”

The Asheville hospital said it expected the move would provide new jobs, especially for clinical staffers.