Final details in the sale of Coffee Health Group to a private entity were completed Tuesday night, hospital officials told the TimesDaily.

RegionalCare Hospital Partners will take over operations at Eliza Coffee Memorial and Shoals hospitals at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, according to RegionalCare spokesman Jeff Atwood.

The transaction was finalized shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday after daylong discussions in Nashville. RegionalCare’s headquarters are in nearby Brentwood, Tenn.

“Many hours of dedicated work has culminated into today’s events, which will result in the investment of millions of dollars by RegionalCare Hospital Partners into our community,” said outgoing CEO Jody Pigg. He concludes his tenure as interim CEO of Coffee Health Group today.

RegionalCare is purchasing Coffee’s assets, which include the two hospitals, two medical complexes and an administrative facility, for $106 million. That money, along with reserves at Coffee, will pay off the group’s $145 million bond debt.

ECM Hospital in Florence has operated as a public, not-for-profit facility since 1919.

Atwood said RegionalCare will transfer the money to Coffee today, which allows the debt to be repaid to Wells Fargo, the group’s bond holder.

“We are honored to have been chosen by the hospital authority to be the new partner for ECM and Shoals hospitals,” said Marty Rash, president and CEO of RegionalCare. “I appreciate all the hard work that has been done. We will continue to work with the medical staff, employees, board and community to provide the highest level of care to the region.”

Pigg, board chairman Dewey Mitchell and attorney Bobby Griffin represented Coffee at Tuesday’s meeting in Nashville, where final details were negotiated.

“Everything is progressing well, and we’re moving forward,” Mitchell said shortly after 5 p.m. “I feel good about it.”

Officials from Coffee and RegionalCare have been negotiating exclusively since Feb. 23 when members of the Coffee board signed the letter of intent. Lauderdale County commissioners and Florence council members signed off on the document in early March.

RegionalCare, in addition to paying Coffee’s debt, has promised to hire 70 doctors within 10 years, build a 300-bed hospital within 3 years after obtaining a Certificate of Need from the state, and invest $33 million in capital improvements at the two hospitals over the next four years.

RegionalCare is putting up $60 million in an escrow account to be paid to Coffee if the new hospital is not built. The private group has also agreed to pay a $25 million penalty if it receives approval to build the hospital but fails to do so.

Michelle Rupe Eubanks can be reached at 256-740-5745 or michelle.eubanks@TimesDaily.com.