puzzle background on red Atlanta's Piedmont Healthcare plans to acquire three more hospitals in a second major deal announced in as many weeks. The not-for-profit health system announced Wednesday it has signed a letter of intent for University Health to become a Piedmont hub in Augusta, a little over two hours east of Atlanta. The news comes just over a week since Piedmont said it plans to buy four HCA Healthcare hospitals, all within 90 miles of Atlanta. That's a lot of growth for Piedmont, which currently stands at 11 acute-care hospitals and just shy of $4 billion in annual revenue. Piedmont CEO Kevin Brown said Wednesday the system didn't plan to announce the deals so close together.