The following developments in hospital transactions took place within the past week.
1. Sale of Ohio’s Brown County General Hospital to Southwest Healthcare Finalized
Brown County General Hospital in Georgetown, Ohio, is officially part of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Southwest Healthcare Services. BCGH has tried to sell four times in nearly two years. Southwest agreed to assume vendor debts, leases, loans and anything currently owed by the facility. As of May 31, that amount was more than $9.765 million.
2. Virginia’s Martha Jefferson Hospital Becomes Sentara Healthcare’s 10th Hospital
Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Va., has merged with Norfolk, Va.-based Sentara Healthcare, becoming the non-profit system’s 10th hospital. The 176-bed Martha Jefferson signed a letter of intent to affiliate with Sentara in Sept. 2010. The transaction went into effect June 1.
3. Minnesota’s CentraCare Health System to Manage St. Michael’s Hospital in 2012
St. Cloud, Minn.-based CentraCare Health System has entered an agreement to run the city-owned St. Michael’s Hospital in Sauk Centre, Minn. The Sauke Centre City Council approved an affiliation agreement between the two organizations that will leave CentraCare managing St. Michael’s beginning in July 2012.
4. Three Financially Troubled Hospitals in Brooklyn Propose Merger
Three struggling hospitals in Brooklyn are finalizing a de facto merger proposal that could be submitted to state officials as early as this week. Interfaith Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and Brooklyn Hospital Center have proposed a plan calling for a “northern Brooklyn healthcare alliance,” which may include a major restructuring, closure or repurposing of at least one facility.
5. Carolinas HealthCare to Manage North Carolina’s Murphy Medical Center
Starting July 1, Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System will provide management services to Murphy (N.C.) Medical Center. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, according to the report. MMC is a 57-bed hospital that also includes a 134-bed nursing home, multi-specialty physician practice, urgent-care center and fitness center.
6. Oklahoma’s Mercy Health System to Acquire Logan Medical Center
Logan Medical Center in Guthrie, Okla., and Oklahoma City-based Mercy Health System are in a process of due diligence as Mercy assumes ownership of Logan Hospital. Sources say the two organizations are approximately three-fourths of the way through the due diligence process.
7. Duke, LifePoint Joint Venture to Acquire North Carolina’s Person Memorial Hospital
Person Memorial Hospital in Roxboro, N.C., has signed a memorandum of understanding to become the second hospital affiliated with Duke LifePoint Healthcare, a joint venture between Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System and Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals. The 110-bed hospital expects to arrange a deal within 90 days, according to the report. PMH has been managed by Duke Health for 13 years.
8. County Officials Reject Contract Between New Hanover Medical Center and Carolinas HealthCare
New Hanover (N.C.) County commissioners rejected a management contract between New Hanover Regional Medical Center and Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System. In a 4-1 vote, county commissioners said they were concerned the integration with Carolinas HealthCare would be “too much to undo,” with one commissioner saying the deal looked like a “slow motion sale of the hospital.”
9. Steward Health to Pay More Than $71M For Rhode Island’s Landmark Medical Center
Boston-based Steward Health Care System has signed an agreement to pay more than $71 million for Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I. The deal must still be approved by Rhode Island’s attorney general and health department. The acquisition would convert Landmark from a non-profit hospital to an investor-owned organization. Steward plans to continue operating the facility as a secular community hospital.
10. Massachusetts’ Beth Israel Deaconess, Lahey Clinic in Talks to Merge
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and The Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., are discussing a possible merger. Both teaching hospitals have emphasized the talks are preliminary, but a Lahey spokesperson confirmed that a draft document was shared with BIDMC to begin merger explorations.
11. Voters Approve Sale of California’s Sierra Kings Hospital to Adventist Health
Voters in the Sierra Kings Health Care District have approved the proposed sale of 49-bed Sierra Kings District Hospital in Reedley, Calif. The agreement includes a 15-year lease of the hospital, which filed for bankruptcy protection in Oct. 2009.
12. Connecticut’s St. Mary’s Health JV With LHP Hospital Group Up for State Approval
St. Mary’s Health System in Waterbury, Conn., and Plano, Texas-based LHP Hospital Group have been asked by Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen to submit an application for their proposed joint venture. State review and approval is required for the joint venture, which is between a non-profit hospital and for-profit entity.
13. University of Louisville President Authorized to Sign Merger Documents
The University of Louisville board of trustees has authorized University President Jim Ramsey to sign an impending hospital merger with Louisville-based Jewish Hospital and St. Mary’s Healthcare and Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives once details of the deal are finalized. Officials will only say the merger will occur “soon,” not releasing further comment. The deal was first announced in November.
14. Michigan’s Memorial Healthcare Issues Request for Proposal to 5 Potential Partners
Owosso, Mich.-based Memorial Healthcare has issued a request for proposal to five organizations in its pursuit for a strategic partnership. It has sent RFPs to St. John Providence Health System in Detroit; Convenant HealthCare in Saginaw, Mich.; McLaren Health Care in Flint, Mich.; Pennant Health Alliance in Wyoming, Mich.; and Sparrow Health System in Lansing, Mich.
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