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Care New England, Partners deal reportedly unaffected by Memorial Hospital closure

A spokesperson for Providence, R.I.-based Care New England told Becker's Hospital Review the health system remains committed to completing its proposed affiliation with Boston-based Partners HealthCare despite the recent closure of one of its hospitals.

In an emailed statement to Becker's Hospital Review, a spokesperson for CNE said the health system "remains committed to its affiliation with Partners HealthCare, and looks forward to ongoing progress in the negotiations and due diligence process."

However, Partners officials previously said they planned to examine their commitment to the proposed deal until CNE demonstrated an improvement in its finances. A Partners executive said in August the two institutions planned to meet in September or October to determine the fate of the proposed merger. It is unclear if both parties met or if they have scheduled a meeting to discuss the proposed transaction.

CNE officials authorized the termination of the health system's deal with Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Foundation regarding their planned acquisition of Pawtucket, R.I.-based Memorial Hospital Oct. 16. Officials said the deal fell through because "both sides were unable to reach mutually acceptable terms," the CNE spokesperson told Becker's via email.

During the Oct. 16 meeting, CNE officials also authorized the closure of 294-bed Memorial Hospital's inpatient units and emergency department, citing "chronic financial losses being incurred at Memorial" for nearly 10 years, according to the spokesperson's statement.

CNE will "begin immediately" working with Memorial Hospital staff on transition plans. It is unclear how many employees may be displaced by the closure, but the spokesperson told Becker's officials will attempt to place affected employees at the health system's various other facilities.

"We agree with and support the steps that Care New England has announced this week. We look forward to continuing our due diligence process, which will now include evaluating the impact that Care New England's new plans for Memorial will have on its overall turnaround plan," a spokesperson for Partners told Becker's in an emailed statement. 

Editor's note: This article was updated Oct. 19 at 11:25 a.m. to include comment from Partners HealthCare.

 

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