Daughters of Charity Sale to Prime Healthcare

[herring_RN]

Consumer Watchdog Calls on Attorney General to Approve Daughters of Charity Sale to Prime Healthcare

Jan. 5, 2015

In order to keep a critical local hospital open in an underserved community, Consumer Watchdog joined neighborhood activists and the California Nurses Association in supporting a bid by Prime Healthcare to purchase Daughters of Charity Health System. Consumer Watchdog spoke at a public hearing organized by the Attorney General's office, at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, California.

"Given St. Francis' critical role in providing quality healthcare for this service area, without this sale, this community will be at risk of losing key services that are essential for the low-income, uninsured, and under-insured patient population," said Michael Kapp, a consumer advocate with Consumer Watchdog. "Prime Healthcare's bid should be approved to ensure that this community doesn't lose a desperately needed healthcare facility."...

... Daughters of Charity Health Systems (DCHS) owns and operates six hospitals throughout California, but is losing $10 million a month and is on the verge of bankruptcy. After six months of an intense bidding process, DCHS approved the sale to Prime Healthcare, which promised to keep all six hospitals open, retain all staff, spend $150 million in capital improvements, absorb all debt, and protect pensions of current and former employees.

This bid was approved by the California Nurses Association, SEIU Local 121RN, and the California Hospitals Association. DCHS President and CEO Robert Issai said that Prime Healthcare was "far and away the best candidate." The sale requires the approval of the Attorney General.

However, SEIU-UHW and its president, Dave Regan, have fought Prime's bid, putting the sale in jeopardy and moving the hospitals closer to bankruptcy and closure...

... Consumer Watchdog noted that the majority of St. Francis' service area are designated "Health Professional Shortage Areas"...

... The Attorney General must reject, approve, or impose conditions on the deal by February 6^th...

Read more: Consumer Watchdog Calls on Attorney General to Approve Daughters of Charity Sale to Prime Healthcare Bad Request

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

My hospital finally built new buildings that comply with seismic regulations. I didn't know Seton was out of compliance.

I hope St. Francis is able to somehow stay open. The trauma center is needed by all of us who drive the freeways. The hospital is needed by the community.

[imuscle, MSN, NP]

Rest assured St. Francis will continue to operate and their doors will remain open. Even the Los Angeles County Board of Superviosrs told us recently that SFMC has nothing to worry about. SFMC has been paying the bills for 5 other hospitals for over 10 years...can anyone name one hosptial that has been able to do that? My hope is that the DOCHS is sold as one so all the hospitals will benefit...however there is only one viable buyer (Blue Wolf Capital) for the entire system and many have attempted to discredit the company with information they just pulled out of their butts. Many buyers are interested in SFMC because SFMC makes money...St. Vincent is over 80 million in the red as we speak...Some buyers want St. Vincent for the prime property like Prime Healthcare did. I do hope all of the hospitals are able to be sold under one system with a company that has the capital to make each of them viable...And yes, SFMC is in current compliance with the latest seismic regulations.

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

Blue Wolf Capital is again interested in Daughters of Charity hospitals after failed deal with Prime

Blue Wolf Capital is again interested in Daughters of Charity hospitals after failed deal with Prime | 89.3 KPCC

[herring_RN, ASN, BSN]

In her Prime Healthcare decision, Kamala Harris set a standard that should apply to all hospitals

03/22/2015

In the debate over the proposed sale to Prime, the California Nurses Association emphasized that the primary factor should have been to keep the six Daughters of Charity hospitals open.

They deliver life-saving services.

Harris, who by law must approve such sales, established a benchmark. Her decision should extend beyond hospital sales.

Every California hospital should be held to the same criteria every day of the year.

Virtually every one of those standards would dramatically improve access to care and the quality of patient services.

For openers, Harris insisted that Prime maintain the hospitals as acute care facilities with emergency services for 10 years. Hundreds of hospitals have closed across the country during the past decade, many of them in California...

Read more here: In her Prime Healthcare decision, Kamala Harris set a standard that should apply to all hospitals | The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee