UP Health System-Marquette’s Emergency Department is pictured. LifePoint Health Inc., which owns and operates UP Health System along with other regional health care systems across the nation, has completed its merger with RCCH HealthCare Partners, which is owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management. (Journal photo by Jaymie Depew)

MARQUETTE — LifePoint Health Inc., which owns and operates UP Health System along with other regional health care systems across the nation, announced Friday the completion of its merger with RCCH HealthCare Partners, which is owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, according to a press release issued by UPHS.

With the merger, the privately held and combined company will operate under the LifePoint Health name. It will operate regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers and post-acute facilities in “more than 85 non-urban communities that span coast to coast,” according to the press release.

“Today marks a historic moment for LifePoint Health and RCCH HealthCare Partners. We are officially one organization dedicated to providing high quality, community-based health care, and I am energized by the opportunities we have ahead of us to serve non-urban communities across the country,” said David Dill, who was appointed as chief executive officer of LifePoint upon completion of the transaction. “Our collective teams — now united as the LifePoint Health team — share a dedication to delivering compassionate, quality care, and have a deep bench of expertise in helping health care providers in non-urban areas succeed.”

LifePoint’s headquarters will remain in Brentwood, Tennessee, and the company will maintain “both organizations’ existing strategic partnerships with well-known leaders in patient safety and clinical quality as it seeks to continue to advance quality care in each of its communities,” the press release states.

“The health care delivery system in America is changing rapidly, and it is vital that we take the steps needed to ensure that high quality, compassionate care will be available to non-urban communities across the country,” former RCCH HealthCare Partners CEO Marty Rash, who will now sit on LifePoint’s board of directors, said in the release. “The merger of these two companies creates an organization that is well positioned to be impactful to our patients and our communities for years to come.”

The executive team that will lead LifePoint includes: David Dill, CEO; John Bumpus, executive vice president, administration; Michael Coggin, executive vice president and chief financial officer; Victor Giovanetti, FACHE, executive vice president, Hospital Operations; Rob Jay, executive vice president, integrated operations; and Jennifer Peters, executive vice president and general counsel.

Former LifePoint Health Chairman and CEO William F. Carpenter III will also be on LifePoint’s board of directors.

“I’m thrilled that our organizations have come together as one and am incredibly confident in the future of the newly-expanded LifePoint Health under David Dill’s leadership,” Carpenter said in the press release. “Ultimately, it is the care and services that our hospitals and health systems are providing that are most important, and I know the combined team will continue our legacy of supporting our employees and caregivers so that we are Making Communities Healthier for decades to come.”

As a result of the merger, LifePoint’s common stock will no longer be traded on NASDAQ, which was effective Friday.

However, LifePoint shareholders will receive $65 per share “in cash for each share of LifePoint’s common stock they owned, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes. This represents a premium of approximately 36 (percent) to LifePoint’s closing share price on July 20, 2018, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the merger,” the release states.

For more information about LifePoint, visit www.LifePointHealth.net. For more information about Apollo, visit www.apollo .com.