The application by the Centurion Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, to buy two Rhode Island hospitals was made public Monday by the state Department of Health and the Office of Attorney General.
As part of a public comment period, the two state agencies plan to stage two public meetings on the proposed acquisition and they are accepting written comments through the end of February.
Centurion’s application can be reviewed on the websites of the Health Department and Attorney General.
The agencies have until June 11 to make a decision on the application.
After an initial application was deemed incomplete, Centurion filed a revised application in November to acquire Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.
The hospitals are now owned by for-profit California-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which has closed and downgraded a number of hospitals in other states. The company has steered about a half-billion dollars in dividends to senior executives and other investors.
In November, the Health Department and Attorney General Peter Neronha took separate regulatory actions against Prospect after the non-payment of vendors led to the cancellation of at least 19 elective surgeries at Roger Williams and Fatima.
Centurion touts its own record on healthcare. It has faced criticism from United Nurses and Allied Professionals, which represents hundreds of workers at the two hospitals, for not responding to the union’s questions about its proposed ownership.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@thepublicsradio.org
