Wilson Medical Center and Duke LifePoint Healthcare have completed the formation of their new joint venture following approval by the Attorney General of North Carolina. The organizations now officially share ownership and operation of Wilson Medical Center.
"This is a very exciting day for our employees, physicians, patients and community," said Jim Pridgen, Chairman of the Wilson Medical Center Board of Directors. "Our board is thrilled to finalize this agreement and begin our new future as part of Duke LifePoint. We look forward to working with the team at Duke LifePoint in the months and years to come to expand the ways that we can make this community healthier."
Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Duke LifePoint owns 80 percent of the joint venture, while Wilson Medical Center and the community have a 20 percent ownership stake. The joint venture has committed to make a minimum of $120 million in capital investments at Wilson Medical Center over the next decade. It also will become a taxpaying organization, providing an important source of new tax revenue to support the Wilson economy.
Governance of Wilson Medical Center will be shared equally by Duke LifePoint and the Wilson community through a 10-member board with five Duke LifePoint members and five Wilson members. A separate board of trustees consisting of physicians, local community leaders and a representative from Duke LifePoint also will be established.
As part of Duke LifePoint, Wilson Medical Center will have access to new clinical, quality, operational and financial resources that will allow it to enhance its services and invest in its growth.
"Wilson Medical Center is a wonderful addition to Duke LifePoint," said William J. Fulkerson, Jr., MD, Executive Vice President of Duke University Health System. "We are pleased to add it to our growing network of community hospitals and health care providers. Together, we have a great opportunity to transform health care delivery in Wilson and the surrounding region."
With the finalization of the joint venture, health care veteran Jerry Dooley will join Wilson Medical Center as Interim CEO, replacing President and CEO Rick Hudson, whose retirement was effective with the completion of the joint venture transaction. Dooley will serve as Interim CEO until a new hospital leader is selected following a national search process that has been initiated.
An experienced hospital administrator with more than 30 years of experience, Dooley holds a master's degree in economics from Indiana State University and a master's degree in hospital administration from the University of Minnesota. He has served as Interim CEO for six hospitals within the LifePoint system since 2006, providing leadership and direction to hospitals as permanent CEOs are recruited.
"Rick Hudson has been an excellent leader at Wilson Medical Center, and we wish him the very best in his retirement," said LifePoint Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William F. Carpenter III. "We are confident that Jerry can successfully lead the transition for Wilson Medical Center as it becomes part of Duke LifePoint's network of hospitals. He is a seasoned hospital executive who will be a great addition to the Wilson team until a permanent CEO is named. We look forward to working with the leadership at Wilson to strengthen and enhance health care services to the community."
Wilson Medical Center is the fifth hospital nationally and third hospital in North Carolina to join Duke LifePoint.
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