PROVIDENCE
– Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital have received a temporary lifeline under a new agreement reached by hospital ownership and R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha on Friday.
Under the agreement, the state of Rhode Island will contribute up to $3 million toward keeping the hospitals open through November, covering a portion of the operating costs that hospital owner Prospect Medical Holdings says it will incur during this period.
The two hospitals are running at a projected $6 million loss for Prospect in November, according to court documents. Representatives from the state, Prospect and potential buyers will appear in court "on or about" Nov. 18 to advise on a transaction, transfer or other conclusion.
Prospect Medical Holdings, the parent company of
Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital operator
CharterCARE Health Partners, on Oct. 30 filed a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas asking to close the hospitals by the end of the year if Rhode Island or a designee does not take ownership.
A hearing on that motion took place on Nov. 4, which Neronha flew to Texas to attend. The request went unresolved, with Neronha and representatives from Prospect Medical Holdings and prospective buyer The Centurion Foundation negotiating for about six hours following the hearing's conclusion.
The two hospitals are running at a projected $6 million loss for Prospect in November, according to court documents. Representatives from the state, Prospect and potential buyers will appear before the court "on or about" Nov. 18 to advise on a transaction, transfer or other conclusion.
Financial concerns for the hospitals date back years, but hit a boiling point in January when Prospect Medical Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The two hospitals host around 500 beds combined.
Atlanta-based nonprofit The Centurion Foundation stepped forward as a buyer, but has yet to raise needed funds while concerns mounted around its lack of experience running health care facilities.
Another potential buyer, the California-based Prime Healthcare Foundation, has entered the proceedings.
The Prime Healthcare Foundation is a non-profit public charity organization and "a distinct and separate legal entity" from Prime Healthcare Services Inc. though the two organizations are affiliated, said Noel True, a spokesperson for Prime Healthcare. The nonprofit arm owns 18 of Prime's 51 hospitals, according to the health system's website.
R.I. Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest said that the state reached out to Prime Healthcare Foundation "because of their unique ability to save and improve hospitals in times of crisis nationally and ensure award-winning quality, equity and access for communities.
"Time and time again they have saved hospitals even amidst the greatest challenges and have the national scale, leadership, clinical quality and dedication to charitable care that can ensure these hospitals continue their missions," Charest continued in a statement.
On its website, Prime names Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket among financially ailing hospitals that it steered away from potential closure, alongside hospitals in New Jersey, California, Kansas, Nevada and Alabama.
Neronha, state leadership, health care organizations and labor unions have all urged a solution that keeps the hospitals open.
"Maintaining access to care is critical for the communities that Roger Williams and Fatima Hospital serve, as well as our statewide health care system," Neronha said in a statement. "This temporary funding solution will ensure that until the transfer of the hospitals to new ownership, patients will continue to receive care from the dedicated health care professionals at both facilities.
"But make no mistake – time is of the essence, and these hospitals will not survive without swift action," he continued. "Rhode Islanders are counting on these hospitals for life-saving care, and the office is committed to keeping them open."
(UDPATE: Corrects Prime Healthcare Foundation as potential buyer with data in 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th paragraphs)
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
