DeSoto Memorial Hospital, a 49-bed community hospital in Arcadia, Fla., is seeking a buyer or strategic partner to ensure long-term sustainability and maintain services for its community.
Five things to know:
1. Multiple transaction types are being considered: The DeSoto County Hospital District, which owns the hospital, is open to a range of partnerships, including an affiliation, purchase, lease, merger, joint venture or other organizational structure. Proposals must be submitted by Oct. 1.
2. Motivation behind the move: The hospital said it is pursuing a transaction to strengthen its clinical, financial and operational foundation amid growing economic and regulatory headwinds. Leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining a full-service hospital for DeSoto County’s 35,000 residents, seasonal visitors and agricultural workforce.
3. Transaction terms: Bidders are required to assume all liabilities and include all hospital facilities and assets in their proposals. If submitting a purchase proposal, a prepaid lease option must also be included. The hospital’s board will select finalists to present their offers, with one bidder expected to be chosen for a letter of intent by mid-October.
4. Preserving local care and identity: The board is asking bidders to commit to maintaining the hospital’s name, honoring current employee service time and benefits, continuing charity care policies, and supporting DeSoto Memorial as a “full service community care hospital” without materially reducing services or referring patients outside the county unnecessarily.
5. Infrastructure and investment history: After hurricane damage in 2004, DeSoto Memorial was rebuilt with a $20 million U.S. Department of Agriculture loan, later supported by a county sales tax for indigent care. That loan is expected to be paid off by 2029. The current facility includes a 16-bed emergency department, three surgical suites and 32 private inpatient rooms.
DeSoto Memorial Hospital is offering on-site tours to prospective buyers through Aug. 30.Becker’s has reached out to the hospital for comment and will update this article as more information becomes available.
