ARCADIA, Fla. — DeSoto County's only hospital will have new management.
WATCH: FOX 4's Hunter Walterman speaks with Tampa General CEO John Couris about the future of DeSoto Memorial Hopsital:
The DeSoto Memorial Hospital board accepted a lease agreement with Tampa General Hospital on Monday, after a months-long process that led to community speculation.
"I think it means that we're going to be able to treat more people here," DeSoto Memorial CEO Vicent Sica told FOX 4. "You know, we're going to have better access to some of the specialty care physicians."
Tampa General pledged to invest at least $45 million into the hospital. The lease agreement is for 49 years, at $10 a year. Tampa General has the same arrangement with the Hillsborough County Hospital Authority, according to TGH general counsel James Kennedy. The agreement includes an option to purchase.
Like many rural hospitals, DeSoto Memorial has challenges. Sica said DeSoto Memorial faces uncertainty over future Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements, which accounts for the vast majority of the hospital's revenue.
About 50% of DeSoto Memorial's revenue comes from Medicare, according to DeSoto Memorial spokesperson Sarah Hipp. Roughly 15% comes from Medicaid. In July, President Donald Trump signed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which included significant cuts to Medicaid.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cut Medicaid funding by $911 billion over the next ten years.
DeSoto Memorial must also replace an aging staff, Sica said, and pay for an expensive upgrade to it's medical records system. An independent audit found the hospital lost $500,000 last year.
"Sometimes it's difficult for us to compete with the coastal hospitals that, you know, are gonna pay a little higher wage and have a little better benefits," Sica previously told FOX 4.
Tampa General said it would hire DeSoto Memorial employees, including medical staff, who are "in good standing" and pass a "routine employee screening." Tampa General CEO John Couris told FOX 4 he wants to expand the hospital's workforce.
"Our goal is to retain the leadership and grow the staff at the facility as we grow and expand," Couris said. "So we're very excited about this work. It's all about growth and all about supporting and building a network of care across the state."
The deal comes after a months-long process that included conversations with multiple healthcare systems. It started after Orlando-based AdventHealth approached DeSoto Memorial about a sale, according to Hipp. The hospital then launched a Request for Proposal process to receive bids from any interested party, per state law.
In October, the DeSoto Memorial board narrowed it down to three finalists. That included Tampa General, AdventHealth, and management company NorthStar Hospitals.
Advent offered to buy the hospital outright for $52 million. That includes $30 million of capital investments over seven years, $10 million to cover DeSoto Memorial’s existing debt, and $12 million to establish “ongoing operations,” the hospital said.
The board chose Tampa General partially because of the lease option, Sica said. In October, DeSoto Memorial general counsel Dave Davidson said the board would have less power under a sale.
“Because you’ll have a new entity that owns all the hospital’s stuff, basically,” Davidson said. “And it’s up to them to run the hospital.”
Operationally, there isn’t much difference between a lease or sale, Davidson said. The exact details still need to be worked in a deal. Couris said that should be finalized in the next four to six months.
The deal still needs to be approved by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, Sica said, because DeSoto Memorial is a public entity. Tampa General is private.
In an interview with FOX 4, Couris pledged to expand care at the hospital - starting with orthopedic surgery. He said there could be more to come, depending on community needs.
“We’re going to engage community members, elected officials, business leaders, physicians and team members, in an exercise that goes through a process that helps us determine what they need and what they don’t need," Couris said.
"And the idea that you have to travel 30 or 40 or 50 miles for basic healthcare will eventually be eliminated," Couris said.
Tampa General partners with the University of South Florida to provide advanced academic medicine, Couris said. That includes neurosurgery and complicated cancer care.
People told FOX 4 they welcomed the takeover.
"I think it's going to be a big difference," said Shane Campbell "It's gonna be a lot better for them. The hospital needs a revamping, more doctors, and steady doctors."
"I think it's fantastic," said Miss Patty - owner of Miss Patty's Consignment's downtown. "It's going to bring healthcare, activities, it'll put us on the map, where people don't have to go so far [for healthcare].
"It's something good for the town, actually," said Johnny Manriquez. "We need more stuff."
