An agreement has been reached to keep two Rhode Island hospitals open through the end of November after owner Prospect Medical Holdings asked a bankruptcy court judge for permission to close the facilities or place them under the state’s control.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a Nov. 7 news release that his office will provide Los Angeles-based Prospect with up to $3 million to cover anticipated operating losses at the facilities in November while the parties consider an alternative buyer for these facilities. The $3 million comes from a $51 million fund established to support a future buyer with capital and infrastructure improvements at the facilities.
The agreement comes after Prospect filed a motion Oct. 30 seeking permission to close North Providence-based Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Providence-based Roger Williams Medical Center. Prospect, which filed for bankruptcy in January, said it is facing insolvency from ongoing losses at the hospitals.
In November 2024, Prospect received approval to sell North Providence-based Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Providence-based Roger Williams Medical Center to The Centurion Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit. The Centurion Foundation, however, has been unable to sell the bonds needed to finance the purchase.
More than six months after the promised closing date of the deal, Prospect said it can no longer afford to fund the facilities “on the hope that Centurion may finally obtain adequate financing” to close the deal.
Centurion said in a Nov. 3 filing that it remains “committed to saving the Rhode Island hospitals and [has] worked day and night to close on the transaction.”
“Although matters outside its control have delayed or otherwise frustrated prior financing efforts, Centurion has obtained a term sheet for bridge financing that would facilitate closing in early to mid-December,” the nonprofit said in the filing.
Amid the stalled deal, Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare was approached by state leaders regarding the potential purchase of the two hospitals. A spokesperson told Becker’s on Nov. 4 that the system is in the “early stages of reviewing the situation.”
Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said Nov. 1 that his administration’s focus is on ensuring both hospitals open.
“That’s why we’ll continue to work in good faith with Centurion, who must secure funding in accordance with the bankruptcy court’s decision,” Mr. McKee said. “We are also developing a Plan B to ensure the hospitals remain open if that deal does not move forward.”
