PROVIDENCE – Following the emergence of a new potential buyer for Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, a union representing the facilities' employees is calling the legality of the state's actions around the sale into question.
On Tuesday, unionized employees and leadership from United Nurses and Allied Professionals held a press conference urging Gov. Daniel J. McKee and R.I. Secretary of Health and Human Services Richard Charest to facilitate the sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, which are at risk of closing by the end of the year.
UNAP said the state is "unlawfully interfering" with earlier plans to transfer the hospitals to ownership by The Centurion Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, in favor of new suitor the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a nonprofit associated with for-profit health system Prime Healthcare Inc.
The union also says that recent Charest quotes that the state provided to media outlets "intentionally mislead the public about Prime’s record."
In provided statements, Charest last week characterized Prime as an organization that "time and time again ... [has] 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 formerly worked as CEO and president of Prime-owned Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, the union notes.
“The McKee Administration’s focus is ensuring that both hospitals remain open – providing vital care to Rhode Islanders and supporting the dedicated employees who make that care possible," Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for Gov. Daniel J. McKee, said in an emailed statement to Providence Business News on Wednesday evening. "We want to see a buyer, whether Centurion, Prime, or another party, complete a deal that keeps the hospitals operating.
"That’s why we’ll continue to work in good faith with Centurion, who must secure funding in accordance with the bankruptcy court’s decision," DaRocha continued. "We are also developing a Plan B to ensure the hospitals remain open if that deal does not move forward. This is the responsible step for our administration to take to prevent another situation like Memorial Hospital."
McKee spoke with UNAP leadership on Nov. 10, the day before the press event, "to reaffirm this commitment," DaRocha said.
A spokesperson for UNAP did not immediately respond to a PBN inquiry.
Now, UNAP, which represents more than 1,200 employees across Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Prospect Home Health and Hospice, is urging state leaders to focus on closing the earlier deal with The Centurion Foundation.
Current hospital owners Prospect Medical Holdings, parent company of CharterCARE Health Partners, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, throwing the fate of the already financially troubled hospitals into further uncertainty. The Centurion Foundation expressed intent to buy the hospitals but it has yet to fundraise enough money, and also raised concerns for its lack of experience with health care facilities.
In late October, Prospect 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 the state of Rhode Island or a designee does not take ownership.
R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha earlier this month appeared in a federal bankruptcy court in Texas in an attempt to buy the hospitals more time. Eventually, Prospect agreed to keep the hospitals open through November, with Rhode Island committing to pay up to $3 million in associated expenses.
UNAP continues to see The Centurion Foundation as the strongest pathway to keeping the hospitals open.
"The importance of keeping these hospitals open and operational can not be understated," Chris Callaci, UNAP general counsel, said in a statement. "There is no more time to waste. We implore state leaders to keep their eye on the ball and focus on getting the Centurion deal across the finish line rather than chasing Prime Health down a rabbit hole."
Callaci also called on Prospect to release its $6 million in charitable assets toward keeping the hospitals open.
"The [Centurion] Foundation’s mission clearly states that they serve as a resource for accessible, affordable health care to benefit the Greater Rhode Island community," Callaci said. "What better way is there to further this mission than turn over the $6 million to keep two critical community hospitals open?
"It defies all imaginable logic that a charitable organization continues to refuse meetings, dodge reporters and sit on this money while Rome burns," Callaci continued. "It’s time for answers. We have no more time to wait."
(UPDATE adds comment from McKee spokesperson Olivia DaRocha in paragraphs 7-9.)
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
