Houston's St Lukes Hospital sold

[JLNicks]

Heard about it earlier today on local News 92FM (92.1) that St. Luke's to sell to Catholic Health Initiatives. Would like to get your viewpoint on it

The link to the story is here: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/04/19/st-lukes-to-sell-to-catholic-health.html

St. Luke's to sell to Catholic Health Initiatives

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas sent a release at 11:28 a.m. today saying it approved a definitive agreement to transfer St. Luke's Episcopal Health System to Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, according to a press release from Edelman public relations firm.

This seemed like the conclusion to the long-awaited purchase of St. Luke's, Houston's fourth largest health care system, according to the Houston Business Journal. However, at 11:35 a.m., the group sent an email saying it was "recalled." It did not give a reason why.

St. Luke's Assistant Vice President David King confirmed the first release was accurate, but said it was sent out too early.

A press conference will be held today at 4 p.m. today at the Houstonian Hotel.

"It's a big day," King said.

According to the first release, as part of the transfer of St. Luke's, CHI will contribute more than $1 billion to create a new Episcopal Health Foundation, which will focus on the unmet health needs of the area's underserved population.

In addition, CHI would commit an additional $1 billion for future investment in the health system.

The Right Reverend C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, said in announcing the decision, "We are humbled to be able to preserve the legacy of St. Luke's, while also expanding the Diocesan commitment to health care."

CHI was one of three finalists to purchase St. Luke's and the only one from outside Houston.

Interesting that the deal happened on the anniv. of the Waco seize incident, Oklahoma City Bombing, and 1 day off from Columbine...

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

CHI is an ENORMOUS not-for-profit health care system. If St. Lukes is looking for long-term security and continued investment, this is a very smart move. The Episcopal & Catholic churches are also very close, from a religious/philosophical perspective. I understand that Catholic health care (via many, many different systems throughout the country) represents the single largest private, not-for-profit health care provider in the US. Historically, Catholic hospitals were the very first health care providers to be established, and still carry a huge 'indigent' load. (I'm not Catholic, just have a great deal of respect for their contributions to public health).

Why in the world would you infer any significance to the date of announcement coinciding with the previous two events?