A possible affiliation with a national health care company could be in the works for Athol Memorial Hospital.
The hospital’s board of trustees recently approved a plan to negotiate with Vanguard Health Systems Inc. of Nashville, Tenn. Vanguard, a for-profit health care company, also owns Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester and MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham.
The 25-bed hospital said “internal capital requirements,” the struggling economy, upcoming national and statewide health care reforms and “a need to implement mandated information and quality control systems,” motivated the decision to consider possible affiliations. The hospital announced that it was looking for partners in June.
