The Duke University Health System has joined forces with a for-profit hospital operator based in Tennessee to buy and run community hospitals across North Carolina.

Duke and LifePoint Hospitals on Monday announced that they've signed their first deal: to run Maria Parham Medical Center in Henderson, a hospital about 45 miles north of Raleigh with 102 beds. The agreement is expected to be finalized in April.

The goal of the joint venture is to add other community hospitals across the state, said William Fulkerson, executive vice president of the Duke health system.