Orlando Health is acquiring Northeast Alabama’s RMC Health System, further fleshing out the Florida-based provider’s push into its neighboring state.
Unveiled Tuesday, the deal brings five years of “significant” investment into RMC’s facilities, equipment and technology, the organizations said in their announcements. These are expected to improve patients’ access to care, including specialty services, and boost physician recruitment.
The City of Anniston, Alabama, which owns RMC, said that the transaction has been approved by its city council and the system’s board of directors. It is expected to be completed this fall, pending regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Healthcare across rural America is changing, and communities everywhere are facing difficult decisions about how to sustain quality care for the future,” Ciara Smith-Roston, Mayor of Anniston, said in a statement. “Our hospital has served this region for generations, and as stewards of this important community asset, our responsibility is to ensure it remains strong and sustainable for the long term. … Our priority has always been to protect the long-term healthcare needs of our citizens, and this step helps ensure that quality care will remain available in Anniston for generations to come.”
RMC comprises a 375-bed medical center, outpatient facilities and specialty practices across the Northeast Alabama region, with almost 2,000 employees and 200 physicians. Those employees will be transitioned to Orlando Health “on day one, with their existing titles, pay and years of service honored” under the agreement, RMC and the City of Anniston said in their announcement.
The system will be joining Orlando Health’s Alabama Region, which was recently bolstered with 2024’s $910 million deal to acquire majority ownership of five Birmingham, Alabama-area hospitals from Tenet Healthcare. Ahead of the RMC deal’s close, the unit stands at more than 1,700 licensed beds, 58 clinics, 2,600 affiliated physicians and over 6,100 employees.
“What excites us most about the partnership with Orlando Health is their proven ability to accelerate and strengthen growth and performance initiatives, and their demonstrated success in markets facing challenges similar to those at RMC,” Keith Parrott, CEO of RMC, said in the announcement.
Orlando Health is a private nonprofit, integrated academic system. During its 2025 fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the organization boosted annual revenue roughly 38% to $9.9 billion on the back of the Alabama acquisition and another $439 million deal to acquire three Eastern Florida hospitals from bankrupt Steward Health. Accompanying expense increases brought the system's operating margin to 3.5% (down from the prior fiscal year’s 7.3%) and a net income to $727.5 million (down from $1.1 billion).