Transactions & Valuation Issues

A group led by former board of directors member Michael Melnicke is considered a strong candidate to buy the closed Far Rockaway, N.Y.-based Peninsula Hospital Center and its affiliated nursing home, according to a New York Daily News report.

Ralph de la Torre, MD, CEO of Boston-based Steward Health Care, has lambasted Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin for an "unwelcome attitude to Steward" and disappointing behavior in mediating an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

Brownwood (Texas) Regional Medical Center and Brown County have approved an affiliation agreement to fund indigent care patients, according to a Brownwood Bulletin report.

Mercy Health System of Maine in Portland has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to be acquired by Boston-based Steward Health Care System.

The following hospital mergers and acquisitions took place within the past week, beginning with the most recent.

Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare and Backus Healthcare System in Norwich, Conn., have formally agreed to affiliate, according to a Hartford Courant report.

LSU Health in Baton Rouge, La., may need the help of a private healthcare partner to operate some of its 10 public hospitals, but its shrinking funding and budget issues are major hurdles in attracting partnerships with private companies, according…

Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives and Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth have signed (pdf) a nonbinding letter of intent to create a regional healthcare system.

San Francisco-based Dignity Health recently closed its acquisition of U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group in Valencia, Calif., an independent operator of occupational medicine and urgent care centers, according to a San Francisco Business Times report.

Naples, Fla.-based NCH Healthcare is joining the Mayo Clinic Care Network as the first member of the network in Florida and the Southeast region of the United States.