Baptist Health, formerly Baptist Healthcare System Inc., acquires Richmond hospital; could become largest health group in Ky.

Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center

The nonprofit formerly known as Baptist Healthcare System Inc. is moving closer to becoming the largest health care organization in Kentucky, with last week's acquisition of the Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center in Richmond, reports Ed Green of Business First. No money changed hands, notes Green, since Baptist Healthcare assumed ownership of the nonprofit medical center.

The company also announced a system-wide rebranding effort designed to bring all of its facilities under a new brand name: Baptist Health. The goal, said Andy Sears, vice president of planning and system development for the nonprofit organization, is to broaden its reach across the state. System-wide, Baptist Health has more than 1,900 licensed acute-care beds and served 93,892 inpatients and 1.8 million outpatients in 2011.