A Feb. 12 hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas could determine whether the Centurion Foundation can proceed with its plan to buy Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.
The hospitals are among the CharterCARE Health Partners assets owed by California-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy last month.
Rhode Island regulators last year approved plans for the Atlanta-based Centurion Foundation to buy CharterCARE, but Prospect’s bankruptcy delayed the deal and Centurion has not yet indicated that it has completed the financing for the arrangement.
On Monday, Prospect announced it has entered into an amended purchase agreement with the Centurion Foundation.
“We hope for a favorable decision from the bankruptcy court that will allow this important transaction to move forward and secure the future stability of these two critical hospitals,” Centurion President/CEO Ben Mingle said in a news release sent by a public relations firm representing Prospect Medical. “We appreciate all the support received from the Rhode Island community and are excited to return the CharterCARE Health System to non-profit status and local control.”
U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas is slated to consider Feb. 6 a proposal to sell Crozer Health, a different part of Prospect’s holdings, to a not-for-profit consortium. The outcome of that hearing may shed light on what will happen Feb. 12.
Centurion has touted its plans to turn-around Roger Wiliams and Fatima, both of which have lost money for years under Prospect Medical’s ownership. Both are among the largest employers and biggest taxpayers in their respective communities.
The union representing workers at the hospitals remains skeptical about Centurion’s ownership, and Attorney General Peter Neronha has said solving the hospitals’ financial challenges may be beyond Centurion’s reach.
