Curae takes over hospital March 31

By John Howell
The transition of Merit Health Batesville to its new owner, Curae Health Inc., will be completed March 31, hospital administrator Travis Sisson said Wednesday.
Sisson spoke to members of the Batesville Exchange Club at their weekly breakfast meeting hosted Wednesday by the hospital in its Pulse Cafe.
Curae Health announced last September its acquisition of the Batesville medical facility along with hospitals in Amory, Clarksdale and Sebring, FL from Community Health Systems, Inc. (CHS).
Sisson said that Clinton, TN-headquartered Curae Health is a smaller corporation that specializes in the operation of small rural hospitals. The hospital administrator said when the sale was announced and he was given the choice of moving on with CHS or staying at the local hospital, his choice was “hands down” to stay in Batesville.
CHS named Sisson administrator of what was then Tri-Lakes Medical Center in September, 2014. He said that he came here after having worked in hospitals for 20 years and was immediately impressed by the staff. “We have an outstanding leadership team,” he said he learned when he arrived.
In May, 2015, CHS changed the name from Tri-Lakes to Merit Health Batesville. A search has been underway to select a new name for the facility. The hospital’s board of directors has narrowed the name choices and is expected to announce is final choice by the end of the month, according to the administrator
Sisson said that hospital employs 450 people, including direct and contracted part-time and full-time employees, the “equivalent of 280 full time jobs.” Annual payroll is from $12 to $15 million, according to the administrator.