HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Hartselle Medical Center in southern Morgan County went out of business Tuesday, but it might not stay closed for long.

During a meeting Tuesday evening, Huntsville Hospital's governing board voted to purchase the 150-bed facility and all its assets from Franklin, Tenn.-based Capella Healthcare.

The $1.5 million deal is expected to be completed in March.

Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers said Hartselle Medical Center is no longer viable as a full-service hospital but might be the right location for some outpatient services.

"Certainly, we will look at trying to keep the physicians in the community by providing access to the services needed for their practices, such as lab and imaging services, if at all possible," Spillers said.

Chief Operating Officer Jeff Samz said Huntsville Hospital will work with its sister hospitals in Morgan County, Decatur General and Parkway Medical Center, to devise a plan for the Hartselle facility.

Any plan for the building "would have to make financial sense," Spillers added.

On Jan. 10, Capella Healthcare announced plans to close Hartselle Medical Center due to declining patient numbers, a weak economy, Alabama's low Medicare reimbursement rates and other factors. It had been averaging fewer than eight medical-surgical patients and 13 to 15 psychiatric patients per day.

The 64-year-old hospital treated its last patient Tuesday. Employees then held a candlelight vigil in the parking lot.

A number of Hartselle's 136 full-time workers have already landed new jobs at Huntsville Hospital, Decatur General, Parkway Medical Center, Athens-Limestone Hospital and the new Madison Hospital opening later this month, Spillers said.

The pending purchase of Hartselle Medical Center gives Huntsville Hospital a stake in all three major medical facilities in Morgan County.

But Capella found it difficult to make money in Morgan County, which has the nation's lowest Medicare reimbursement rate for hospitals.

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