Capella Healthcare, Franklin, Tenn., has finalized a joint venture with St. Thomas Health, Nashville, to jointly own and operate at least four Capella hospitals.

The deal could potentially be expanded to include other facilities in the 60-county middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky region, according to a news release.

The hospitals currently included under the deal are 125-bed River Park Hospital, McMinnville; 42-bed White County Community Hospital, Sparta; 57-bed Dekalb Community Hospital, Smithville; and 55-bed Stones River Hospital, Woodbury, all in Tennessee.

St. Thomas will hold an equity interest in the facilities, while Capella will be the majority partner.

Financial terms were not disclosed. But the parties said they plan to make a $1 million investment to renovate the interior and exterior of White County Community Hospital, which will change its name to Highlands Medical Center, effective May 1.

They will also make investments in developing cardiac-care centers at three of the hospitals; River Park Hospital already has a nationally accredited chest pain center and is the model for the other facilities. St. Thomas also has a focus on cardiac-care services.

Other terms of the deal will see St. Thomas become the tertiary care partner for the four hospitals, and Capella will be the exclusive development partner for St. Thomas in the middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky region.

St. Thomas is a five-hospital system affiliated with Ascension Health Ministry. Investor-owned Capella currently operates 13 hospitals in seven states.

St. Thomas and Capella announced in December that they had signed a letter of intent to negotiate a deal.