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Huntsville Hospital Lincoln CEO outlines downtown clinic move, nurse apprenticeship and EMS transition
Summary
Marybeth Sills, identified as CEO of Huntsville Hospital Lincoln, told the Fayetteville board the hospital system employs about 450 people locally, plans to convert the downtown Faithful Medical building into a rural health clinic and move providers to the former Ralston Macaulay Funeral Home site in early 2026, has launched a nurse apprenticeship with TCAT, and is transitioning local EMS under Huntsville Hospital EMS.
Marybeth Sills, identified in the meeting record as CEO with Huntsville Hospital Lincoln, gave a system report to the Fayetteville Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Dec. 9, outlining staffing, facility and service changes intended to sustain local health services.
Sills said the health system currently employs about 450 people across sites and highlighted recent fundraising by the Lincoln County Health Foundation, which raised roughly $12,500 at a veterans-day event. She told the board the longtime downtown Faithful Medical building will not close but will be converted into a rural health clinic; the system expects to relocate providers to the former Ralston Macaulay Funeral Home site 'sometime next spring or next summer.' "We will be making that building, a rural health clinic, in the months that follow," she said.
Sills described workforce development efforts, including a nurse apprenticeship launched in July in partnership with TCAT (three apprentices currently in training) and plans to expand partnerships with additional local colleges. She said a Department of Labor and Workforce Development grant helped upskill existing employees through on-the-job training and certification opportunities.
On emergency services, Sills said local EMS is set to transition or merge under Huntsville Hospital EMS; locally the service will continue running calls but will move to a shared reporting structure with the hospital's EMS leadership. "We are getting ready to transition/merge with Huntsville Hospital EMS," she said.
In Q&A, a board member asked how Fayetteville compares regionally amid rural-hospital pressures; Sills said it remains challenging to run a small rural hospital, reported that 14 patients were admitted that day and the ER might see about 50 visits, and stressed that keeping outpatient diagnostics and ER services local helps sustain the hospital. She said some specialty services (urology, ENT, open-heart surgery) are unlikely to be full-time on-site and will be provided by visiting or satellite arrangements with larger partners.
Sills closed by noting plans for a grand opening and tours once renovations are complete and said she expects to return with updates in mid-2026.
