Under the deal, Vanguard would pay Athol’s parent, Greater Quabbin Health Care System, “in excess” of $1 million and agree to fund $2.25 million in capital improvements over five years. Vanguard has also agreed to keep all of its services operating for five years and increase physician coverage, according to the story. Greater Quabbin would maintain a 5-percent ownership stake in the facility.
Once the deal has been signed, there will be public hearings on the hospital’s conversion to for-profit status, which would have to be approved by the state attorney general and the state department of public health.
Vanguard already owns 348-bed Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass. and 420-bed MetroWest, with campuses in Framingham and Natick, Mass.
Read the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s story on Athol Memorial Hospital.
