Health Management Associates Inc. inked a deal to acquire Florida hospital chain Wuesthoff Health System, the company said Tuesday, adding its two facilities and 406 beds to the nearly 60 hospitals and 9,000 beds the Naples, Fla.-based company already owns nationwide.

Health Management, which runs health centers mostly in rural and suburban communities, said a subsidiary should complete the acquisition by October 1.

Wuesthoff takes in $290 million in annual sales, Health Management said, and comprises two Florida hospitals, the 291-bed Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge, and a 115-bed building in Melbourne, along with several other sites. The hospitals are only a few dozen miles away from Health Management's own Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian, Fla., the company said.
"For nearly 70 years, the Wuesthoff Health System has served the health care needs of Brevard County and its adjoining communities, and Health Management is pleased to have the opportunity to continue that tradition of service as we seek to enable America's best local health care," Health Management's president and CEO Gary D. Newsome said in a statement.

News of the purchase comes a day after Naples, Fla.-based Health Management reported second quarter earnings of 16 centers per share, one penny above Wall Street estimates and a nearly 23 percent jump over the 13 cents a share the company earned last year at this time.

Health Management rose 3.6 percent to reach $7.25 in recent trading.

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