In commenting on the closing, William F. Carpenter III, LifePoint’s president and chief executive officer, said, “Sumner Regional Health Systems is an excellent addition to LifePoint’s family of hospitals. The employees and medical staff share LifePoint’s mission of making communities healthier. We look forward to working with them to enhance the scope of services available and to find new and even better ways to provide quality healthcare close to home for the residents of these communities.”

Under Spheris’s plan, a trust is created to distribute the proceeds and any other remaining assets. Subordinated noteholders, owed about $133.6 million, and other unsecured creditors will share the trust. They are estimated to recover about 23 cents on the dollar. Lenders with claims of about $75.6 million were already paid in full from the sale, court papers show.

We are pleased that Judge Woods has approved the sale of Forum Health's assets to Community Health Systems. This is a very positive step forward and represents the accomplishment of our objective of providing a more secure and stable future for Forum Health and continued access to high-quality health care services for residents of the Mahoning Valley. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur promptly upon obtaining the remaining regulatory approvals.