A deal long in the works to manage a Bay area hospital is close to final agreement.
The Citrus County Hospital Board of Trustees has voted to transfer operations of the Citrus Memorial Hospital to the Hospital Corporation of America.
"Today, after several months of due diligence by HCA and negotiations among all the parties, the CCHB voted to execute the master agreement and lease agreement to transfer operations of the Citrus Memorial Hospital to HCA," said Trey Crabb, Ziegler managing director and transaction consultant.
"Once the Foundation joins the CCHB in this decision, the transaction will now proceed into various state and federal authority reviews and is expected to close on October 31, 2014. This historic arrangement will provide health care for Citrus County and surrounding communities for many years to come."
The deal means $45 million worth of facility improvements.
Also, trustees say they will not have to raise taxes.
The deal is anticipated to close by the end of October.