Attorney General Suthers decided not to hold hearings on the proposal for Sisters of Charity to takeover the management of Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge, Colo., and Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, Colo., despite a new state law requiring hearings for hospital mergers. The two hospitals are owned by Community First Foundation and are currently operated by Exempla.
Currently, Exempla also operates Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver, which is owned by Sisters of Charity.
Attorney General Suthers stated in a letter to the two groups’ attorneys that the proposed deal is not a “transaction” but a change in bylaws that would give Sisters of Charity control over the two hospitals’ management and operations, according to the report.
Critics of the proposal argue that the takeover of the nonprofit facilities by a Catholic health system will force residents to travel for procedures, such as tubal ligation, which are not performed by Catholic health systems.
Sisters of Charity originally planned to acquire the two facilities but the sale was blocked by a Denver arbitrator after Exempla sued both Sisters of Charity and CFF following the proposed acquisition. The arbitrator determined that CFF could not sell the hospital but could allow Sisters of Charity to take control of them, according to the report.
Sisters of Charity and CFF are currently awaiting approval from the Federal Trade Commission on the deal.
Read the Denver Business Journal‘s report on the Sisters of Charity/Community First Foundation deal.
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