PROVIDENCE – After getting delayed twice because of incomplete applications, The Centurion Foundation’s attempt to purchase CharterCARE Health Partners from Prospect Medical Holdings is now one step closer to reality.
On Thursday, R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Dr. Utpala Bandy, interim director of the R.I. Department of Health – leaders of the two agencies that oversee hospital conversions in the state – issued a letter stating that the application for the proposed conversions of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital were deemed complete to begin a formal review.
The two hospitals are operated by CharterCARE, which is currently owned by Prospect Medical Holdings. The proposed transaction would sell the CharterCARE hospital system to The Centurion Foundation, a Georgia-based nonprofit company.
Under the Hospital Conversions Act, health care groups must first submit an initial application to the attorney general’s office and RIDOH. The state agencies then evaluate the application for completeness before beginning the review process.
After signing an asset and purchase agreement last November, Centurion and Prospect submitted a joint HCA application to RIDOH and the attorney general’s office, along with Change in Effective Control applications to RIDOH on May 26, PBN previously reported.
But days later the state agencies announced the applications were not complete because the health care organizations did not use the correct application forms.
Brian Hodge, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, previously told PBN that the health systems resubmitted their applications on July 12. But on Aug. 11, the applications were denied again. The state agencies indicated in a joint statement that the applications were incomplete partly because of a “lack of detail surrounding the structure of the entities and how the parties intend to achieve the goals proposed in the Application.”
But now that the application has been successfully completed, the attorney general and state health department have 180 days to review the application under the Hospital Conversions Act before issuing their respective decisions.
The review process will also include public comment meetings and hearings, and the attorney general's office plans to make the application public in mid-January after a full review is conducted, in accordance with HCA provisions.
In a joint statement to PBN, representatives from Prospect, CharterCARE and Centurion said this most recent development in the transaction is positive news.
"We thank these state agencies for their effort and professionalism to reach this important point in the process," the health care organizations wrote. "The transacting parties now look forward to the opportunity to share their vision and plans on how this proposed new venture will benefit these important hospitals, their dedicated employees, and the communities that count on them for quality care."
This news comes weeks after Neronha sued Prospect in November for violating conditions set in 2021, including the failure to pay vendors that provide supplies, equipment and staff at the two hospitals in Providence on a timely basis. As of Oct. 31, Roger Williams and Fatima owed a combined total of more than $24 million in accounts payable to vendors that were 90 days or more past due, jeopardizing the financial health and stability of the hospitals, PBN previously reported.
Lynn Blais, president of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals, which is a union representing almost 1,000 employees at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Prospect Home Health and Hospice, noted the timeliness of this lawsuit, as well as the union's unmet requests from Centurion in a statement issued Thursday on the completion of Centurion's application.
Blais wrote that more than six months ago the union gave Centurion a written proposal asking the company to agree to commitments that would ensure protections against layoffs, hospital closures, and terminations or reductions of services. Those requests have yet to be met, Blais said.
"Centurion can not expect the Attorney General and Department of Health to approve their application to buy these healthcare facilities when they can’t even commit to the most basic obligations to patients, families, and healthcare workers. And they certainly can not expect the UNAP or our members to support this transaction in the absence of these basic commitments," Blais wrote.
Blais added that following Prospect's lawsuits, it is important that the next owner is willing to prioritize health care and be willing to invest in the hospitals, patients, employees and the community.
"If Centurion truly believes in this mission, now is the time to show it," Blais wrote.
Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.
