During the council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, April 23, he outlined the hospital system’s large footprint across North Alabama, its role as a major employer and economic driver, and its commitment to community health initiatives. According to Samz, Huntsville Hospital has a $7.4 billion economic impact on the region and nearly 22,000 employees, making it the largest employer after Redstone Arsenal. During his presentation, the CEO explained that the acquisition of Crestwood was a strategic decision to keep a vital community asset under local, nonprofit governance after its for-profit parent company, Community Health Systems, decided to sell. Samz said Huntsville Hospital learned just before Thanksgiving that Crestwood was on the market. “When they approached us about the possibility of maintaining over local governance, we worked with that board you sa…

Huntsville Hospital’s acquisition of Crestwood was officially completed on March 31, 2026. “Until we closed the transaction, they didn’t want me and the media talking about their company. That’s why I couldn’t talk about this until tonight,” Samz said. Samz detailed plans for significant capital investment in Crestwood and addressed public concerns regarding the merger’s potential impact on health care costs, nursing wages, and CMC’s operations. “In the first 90 days we’ve been there, we’ve already committed $4 billion of capital investment in Crestwood,” he said.