It’s been talked about for months, but now it’s official: Anderson Regional Medical Center is buying Riley Hospital in a transaction that began Monday afternoon and will be completed at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

    Starting on Jan. 1, all the signs for Riley Hospital will be replaced with temporary signs bearing its new name, Anderson Regional Medical Center South Campus.

    “Two great medical families in this community come together as one,” Anderson President and CEO Ray Humphreys said at a press conference Tuesday. “These two hospitals complement each other in so many ways … The people of these communities will have better health care.”

    Humphreys said he doesn’t expect the merger between the two hospitals to result in job loss, and added his hopes are for the creation of new jobs.

    “Our plans are to offer all employees at Riley Hospital a job,” Humphreys said in an interview. “One of the motivators we have is to protect Riley jobs and, in the long term, even grow health care employment.”

    Humphreys said that, while he cannot guarantee that zero jobs will be lost because planning for the merger is not complete, Anderson will “substantially offer every employee jobs … Our intent is to protect jobs here.”

    According to a written statement issued by Anderson, Riley’s 400 or so employees will become Anderson employees on Jan. 1, and that employees of both hospitals will report to work as normal. Anderson will employ approximately 1,700 people after the sale is finalized, the statement said.

    The written statement also said patients can keep pre-existing appointments.

    Anderson Regional Medical Center is a not-for-profit hospital that has been in operation in Meridian for around 80 years. Riley Hospital, which has also been in Meridian for around 80 years, is owned by a for-profit company, Health Management Associates, based in Naples, Fla.

    Both Humphreys and Riley CEO Pam Tvarkunas said the merger will enhance the medical service offered to the East Mississippi/West Alabama region.

    “This is a way to adapt to a changing health care environment,” Humphreys said, adding in a written statement, “this acquisition will allow our healthcare system to expand its campus, enhance and increase key services to help us better serve the residents of this region.”

    “It’s going to stabilize the hospitals so that there will be growth,” Tvarkunas said. “We’ve got services that Anderson doesn’t have and they’ve got services that we don’t have, and to be a better hospital, we need to combine services … It’s going to be a better experience for the patients.”

    Tvarnkunas and Humphreys both said that strategic planning for the merger, including decisions on which services will be duplicated at the two campuses, will begin after the sale becomes final Jan. 1. Tvarkunas said she will stay with Anderson as VP of the South Campus.

    “We’re going to spend the first several weeks carefully evaluating the services and opportunities with input from the staff of Anderson and the staff of Riley, which will be the same staff, and making careful decisions as to how we can change for the sake of improvement,” Humphreys said.

    Humphreys said an uncertainty in how health reform will affect the health care industry played a part in Anderson’s purchase of Riley, but that the benefits of combining the services of the two hospitals was the primary reason for the merger. He said Riley was not having problems staying afloat financially.

    “This is a way to adapt to a changing health care environment,” Humphreys said. “A great amount of study and discussion began last March, and in the proceeding nine months, it was determined that it would be advantageous to the community.”