Dive Brief:
- Orlando Health has agreed to acquire Anniston, Alabama-based RMC Health as the nonprofit looks to expand its presence in the state.
- RMC Health will become part of Orlando’s Alabama Region, the health systems announced this week. The deal is expected to close in the fall, pending regulatory approvals.
- It’s another acquisition for Orlando Health in Alabama, which in 2024 acquired Birmingham, Alabama-based Baptist Health from Tenet for more than $963 million.
Dive Insight:
Orlando Health has been expanding in Alabama as the nonprofit pushes outside of Florida. In addition to the two states, Orlando Health also operates five hospitals in Puerto Rico.
The acquisition of RMC would expand Orlando Health outside of Birmingham. Orlando Health operates four hospitals and associated outpatient centers in and around the Birmingham region after its acquisition of Baptist Health.
Nonprofit RMC, which is owned by the city of Anniston, includes a 375-bed medical center, outpatient centers and associated practices that serve patients in Anniston and northeast Alabama.
RMC said the acquisition would strengthen the health system’s operating capacity. Orlando Health will invest “significant resources” to improve RMC’s facilities, including implementing an electronic health record system for RMC, according to a press release. A spokesperson for Orlando Health declined to comment on the deal amount.
Ciara Smith-Roston, the mayor of Anniston, said joining Orlando Health would help a rural health system like RMC ensure its stability.
Orlando Health’s recent acquisitions, including its purchase of Baptist Health and buys of three facilities owned by Steward Health Care in Florida, are expected to support “continued robust volume growth” over the next three to five years due to population growth and other demographic factors, according to credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings.
The ratings agency, which gave Orlando Health a “stable” outlook in December, said the health system had generated consistent financial performance while its other nonprofit peers have struggled. Orlando Health reported $345.7 million in operating income for its 2025 fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
In Alabama, Orlando’s largest competitor has been the University of Alabama at Birmingham, according to Fitch. In northeastern Alabama, Orlando Health will compete with Huntsville Hospital Health System, which recently expanded in the region after acquiring Crestwood Medical Center from for-profit operator Community Health Systems.
