By Mark Cowling | Florence Reminder
News that the Anthem hospital will reopen early in the new year under new ownership and a new name was a fitting end to an exceptional year for Florence, Town Manager Brent Billingsley said.
His fourth year as town manager begins late this month, and “every year I’m amazed with the number of accomplishments,” he said in an interview Monday. “The list this year of large accomplishments far exceeds the previous two years. That’s all a credit to our (town) council … and the leadership they provide us and the support in terms of funding decisions.”
Officials with Steward Health Care — operator of Mountain Vista Medical Center in Mesa and other hospitals in the Valley and across the country — told the council earlier this month they planned to reopen the Anthem hospital under the new name “Florence Hospital, A Campus of Mountain Vista Medical Center.”
Billingsley said after the Anthem hospital closed this summer, town staff reached out to see if there was interest by anyone else in operating a hospital here.
