Perry Co. hospital finalizes Mercy deal

A little more than a year after officials proposed a merger with a larger organization, Perry County Memorial Hospital's board of trustees have approved a lease agreement with the Mercy system.

A release from the Perryville, Missouri, hospital said the vote occurred Thursday evening.

"This is an exciting time for Perry County to strengthen an already strong future of health care," said Chris Wibbenmeyer, CEO of Perry County Health System. "The benefits of partnering with Mercy will improve the health care delivery system in Perry County and expand the options for the community."

Wibbenmeyer said benefits will include deploying a $6.5 million digital medical record system, collaboration with Mayo Clinic, purchasing scale that will lower costs and better physician and nurse recruitment to provide "high quality, specialized care".

"We are excited about this new opportunity for the community," stated Greg Unger, chairman of Perry County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees. "Mercy has been really good to work with and will be a great partner with our long-term future in mind. Perry County will benefit from this partnership for years to come."

The merger is to be complete in the fall, according to the release.

The process that ultimately led to the arrangement with Mercy included an early-on proposal from SoutheastHEALTH, which also recently announced it is partnering with Mercy.