PROVIDENCE – Jonathan N. Savage, the special master appointed for Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, filed a joint petition Jan. 24 asking to move forward with an expedited process for receiving bids and selling the assets of the acute-care community hospital now in receivership.
Providence Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein will consider that request in a hearing scheduled for Feb. 2. If approved, a deadline of March 25 would be set to receive bids from prospective buyers, with a choice to be made by March 28, and a sales agreement signed 15 days after that.
“We want to do this in a very transparent way, in the hopes of achieving a very positive outcome,” said Michael Trainor, Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s spokesman.
Negotiations for the sale of the Landmark Medical Center to Caritas Christi Health Care had stalled in December 2010 because of an inability to reach an agreement with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, according to Savage spokesman Bill Fischer.
Potential buyers still include Caritas as well as Lifespan, according to State Sen. Roger A. Picard, D-Woonsocket, who said he been approached by Lifespan in the last week to discuss the hospital’s situation. “Caritas is still in the hunt,” he said.
Picard voiced concern about what criteria will be used to select a buyer. “Besides an infusion of cash, what do [potential buyers] perceive as the future of the hospital – a glorified emergency room, or as an acute-care community hospital?” asked Picard, who serves on the R.I. Senate commission studying hospital costs.
Lifespan said that it was “currently in discussions with Landmark” about a potential purchase, according to Lifespan spokeswoman Gail Leach Carvelli. Lifespan’s purchase of Landmark would increase the reach of Rhode Island’s largest hospital chain into Northern Rhode Island.
“We are reaching out to key constituents to get a more solid idea of the health care needs of the residents of Northern Rhode Island,” Carvelli said. “We want to be as thorough as possible and once this review is complete, we’ll be better able to map out any next steps.”
Rick Brooks, director of United Nurses & Allied Professionals, the union that represents about 600 nurses and other health care workers at Landmark Medical Center and the Landmark-owned Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island, urged state officials to be mindful of Landmark’s role in the health and economic well-being of northern Rhode Island.
“In light of the state’s 11.5 percent unemployment rate, there is no doubt that state officials would go to great lengths to bring a new business to Rhode Island that would provide 1,300 good-paying jobs, a $130 million annual operating budget, a $50 million annual payroll, and millions more in purchased goods and services from local businesses,” Brooks said. “Landmark Medical Center is such a business.” Brooks urged officials to work to preserve Landmark as a full-service community hospital.
