State and community leaders are asking Providence, R.I.-based Care New England to consider an offer to purchase the shuttered Pawtucket, R.I.-based Memorial Hospital, according to WPRI.com.
Here are three things to know:
1. The mayors of several counties and Democratic state Sen. Elizabeth Crowley sent a letter to Care New England encouraging the health system to sell the hospital to interested parties who will "utilize [the facility] to the best of its potential," the report states.
2. At least one organization that has shown interest in buying and reopening the hospital is Providence, R.I.-based CharterCare Health Partners, part of Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings. CharterCare submitted a bid to purchase the hospital in April.
3. However, a CNE spokesperson told Becker's Hospital Review last month CharterCare's announcement came as a surprise, and called the proposal "an ill-conceived plan with no true thought for serving the community need."
"[The] announcement by Prospect Health/CharterCare certainly comes as a surprise as there has been no previous discussion or formal proposal submitted to Care New England," the spokesperson said at the time. "Any plan to reopen the closed facility … is simply unfeasible especially since we previously had conversations with CharterCare about buying Memorial, and those proved fruitless."