PROVIDENCE – Gov. Daniel J. McKee on Wednesday signed legislation establishing an $18 million fund to assist The Centurion Foundation in finalizing the acquisition of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital.
“Keeping Fatima and Roger Williams open is my top priority
– for both the communities these hospitals serve and the dedicated professionals who care for their patients,” McKee said.
The General Assembly approved the legislation on Tuesday.
Contingent upon Centurion securing outside financing, the law transfers $18 million in the state’s supplemental “rainy day” fund as backstop support for bonds to be issued by the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corp.
The hospitals are losing roughly $45 million a year. And Centurion executives had said state support to secure the bonds was crucial for attracting investors while preserving 2,700 jobs and more than 500 hospital beds.
While there was zero funding for the hospitals in his fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, McKee said he coordinated closely with the R.I. Attorney General’s Office and the General Assembly.
Covering two years of debt service on the 30-year bonds, the state will have no obligation to replenish the debt-service reserve fund, which will serve as a backup for the bonds should Centurion become unable to make its debt payments, and only after it has used $9 million set aside from the bond sale for the same purpose.
Rep. Scott A. Slater, D-Providence, vice chairman of the House Finance Committee, said the potential repercussions of hospital closures would be a “catastrophic scenario for the people of Rhode Island and our fragile health care system” if Fatima and Roger Williams were to go under.
“Tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders rely on Fatima and Roger Williams for medical care. For those patients, for the stability of our entire health system, and for our state’s well-being now and in the years to come, we absolutely must find a secure and sustainable path forward for these safety-net hospitals,” added Sen. Louis DiPalma, D-Middletown, bill sponsor and chair of the Senate Finance Committee.
“These facilities need to stay open for the patients they serve, and for the health care system in Rhode Island overall,” said R.I. Director of Health Dr. Jerry Larkin. “The passage and signing of this legislation represents an important step in that direction. We are very grateful to the governor and the General Assembly for their leadership and action on this critical issue.”
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You can contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
