Transactions & Valuation Issues

The Daughters of Charity Health System announced it has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire Downey (Calif.) Regional Medical Center, a 199-bed nonprofit hospital in Southeast Los Angeles County, according to a system press release.

Mergers and acquisitions among hospitals were down 13 percent in 2009, and dollar volume of the transactions was down 35 percent, according to a news release from Irving Levin Associates.

The Adams County (Miss.) Board of Supervisors is considering the sale of county-owned Natchez (Miss.) Regional Medical Center, according to a report by the Natchez Democrat.

Hospital Chains, such as Community Health Systems, Health Management Associates and LifePoint Hospitals, are accelerating their efforts to acquire financially struggling independent hospitals in wake of failed healthcare reform efforts, according to a report by BusinessWeek.

St. Vincent Jennings Hospital in North Vernon, Ind., is buying bankrupt Washington County Memorial Hospital's assets for up to $3.5 million, according to a report in The Courier-Journal.

Shriners Hospital in Shreveport, La., and LSU Health Sciences Center-Shreveport are considering merging their operations, according to a report by the Shreveport Times.

Continuum Health Partners, which operates Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, N.Y., has approved an agreement that would allow the hospital to merge with SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Crown Heights, N.Y., according to a report by the Brooklyn…

A federal arbitration panel has awarded the Louisiana $474.8 million in federal funds to replace Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which has been closed since Hurricane Katrina struck, according to a report by the New York Times.

The board of managers for Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas has approved a preliminary site plan for a $1.2 billion replacement of its 54-year-old facility, according to a report by the Dallas Morning News.

Continuum Health Partners, which operates four New York City-area hospitals, is proposing to acquire financially troubled St. Vincent's Hospital Medical Center and turn it into a walk-in healthcare center, according to a report by the New York Times.