Baptist Health executives and local officials marked the change-over Tuesday of hospitals in Fort Smith and Van Buren that Baptist acquired from Sparks Health System earlier this year.
The hospitals announced the purchase agreement in July; the deal closed Nov. 1. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The former Sparks hospitals are now called Baptist Health-Fort Smith and Baptist Health-Van Buren.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm around Baptist Health aligning with the outstanding reputation of this team of dedicated physicians and caregivers,” Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health, said in a news release. “We hope to compliment the quality of care that the River Valley has come to expect.”
Harrison Dean, who has been with Baptist Health for 35 years, is now president of its Western Arkansas/Eastern Oklahoma Region. He oversees the hospitals in Fort Smith and Van Buren as well as affiliated physician clinics.
Dean previously served as senior vice president of regional hospitals and as administrator of Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock. He was also instrumental in the construction of Baptist Health Medical Center-Conway, which opened in 2016.