Memphis-based Baptist Memorial Health Care and Arkansas Methodist Medical Center of Paragould, Arkansas, have finalized plans to merge, increasing Baptist Memorial’s hospitals to 25 and solidifying the organization’s position as one of the largest not-for-profit health care systems in the United States.

The merger, which began with the signing of a shared mission agreement in April 2025, includes a transfer of all AMMC assets, including the 129-bed hospital, 91-bed Chateau on the Ridge Assisted Living facility and eight medical clinics, to Baptist Memorial Health Care. AMMC has more than 500 employees, who immediately transitioned to Baptist Memorial Health Care.

Melanie Edens, most recently chief operating officer of NEA Baptist, has been selected to lead the hospital as CEO and administrator following the retirement of Brad Bloemer. Bloemer announced his plans to retire in February after serving in the leadership role since July 2023, and Edens moved into the role on March 1.

Edens has more than 27 years of health care experience at NEA Baptist. She began her career with the organization as a student diagnostic CT technologist in 1998 and worked her way up to director of radiology in 2003. She was promoted to associate administrator in 2015 and COO in 2020. She has a bachelor’s degree in radiologic sciences and a master’s degree in business from Arkansas State University.

Baptist Memorial Health Care now has three hospitals in Arkansas — in Crittenden, Craighead and Greene counties. Baptist, which had a net operating revenue of $4.9 billion in fiscal year 2025, most recently successfully completed mergers with OCH Regional Medical Center in Starkville, Mississippi, in 2025; Anderson Regional Health System in Meridian, Mississippi, in 2024; and Mississippi Baptist Health System based in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2017.