There were two competing themes at Wednesday’s Williamson County Commission Property Committee meeting: concerns about moving forward with the Ascension acquisition of Williamson Health, and the old adage “time kills deals.”
The concern from several commission members stems from a recent medication error at the hospital system, which Ascension confirmed Friday. Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital Midtown released a statement explaining that the wrong medicine was given to four joint replacement patients, which caused serious reactions. NewsChannel 5 reported that the TBI is investigating the matter, which left at least one patient paralyzed and others in critical condition.
“I have serious concerns with what's happened in the last week,” said District 1 Commissioner Lisa Hayes. “This is our community hospital. This is a hospital that serves every one of us in this room, and all of our constituents. This is the biggest decision we've ever had to make in this county commission or this county on selling a very near and dear hospital to a lot of people who lived here a long time. And in light of what's happened, it's very concerning.”
Commission members on Wednesday during the property committee meeting voted on whether to have a special-called meeting to discuss a non-binding letter of intent, which outlines the terms of the transaction and details the rest of the acquisition process. Some expressed concern that a Sept. 9 meeting would not allow new commissioners to get a regular meeting under their belt first. However, the meeting — which was called by former mayor Rogers Anderson shortly before he left office — was ultimately approved.
Terms of the letter of intent include a $700 million purchase price, $195 strategic capital commitment, $40 million routine capital, and $20 million county contribution over five years in lieu of taxes — terms that were all consistent with the July Williamson Health Board announcement that it would sell the independent hospital.
Jesse Neil, partner at legal firm Foley & Lardner representing Williamson County Commission, said entering into the letter of intent process means they could ask deeper questions about the malpractice. However, he could not answer District 8 Commissioner Barb Sturgeon’s question about whether a deal with HCA, which also sent in a RFP, was still on the table.
District 9 Commissioner Chas Morton said he fully supports the sale.
“What I don't want to do is five years from now, the hospital can't keep up,” Morton said. “That Ascension opens up next door, and we get wiped off the face like we never existed. It's a huge concern. We can't keep up, in my opinion, with the Vanderbilts of the world, with the Ascensions and the HCAs of the world.”
District 9 Commissioner Matt Williams added his own thoughts.
“I think this is an imperative next step to move this forward, but you know it's going to take time. It's still going to take time for these things to play out. We've got to start the process.”
The letter of intent would expire by the end of December, with extensions possible, Neil says.
Some commissioners, including Hayes, expressed concern that the process has been rushed. Williamson Health announced that it was eyeing a sale in July 2025. Earlier this year, the company whittled candidates to HCA, Ascension and Optum, and in July the Williamson Health board chose Ascension.
“We keep talking about time's of the essence,” Hayes said. “Are we concerned that Ascension's going to pull out, or because of the recent issues that they may have to drop out? I'm just curious why this is such a rush. Most of the time, deals like this take years. It's not something that's done in a year.”
Neil said the opposite was true of the situation.
“The cadence and the time frame that has been followed here is not the most aggressive or the quickest. It's probably a little bit more deliberate and delayed than what I've typically seen. It would be, in my experience, highly unusual to pause the process and not enter into an LOI.”
The special-called meeting on the sale of Williamson Health is set for Sept. 9.
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