Prime Healthcare Services of Ontario, Calif., is in negotiations to purchase St. Mary's Hospital, a stand-alone Catholic facility in Passaic, N.J.
Under the agreement, the 20-hospital Prime Healthcare company would make investments to stabilize St. Mary's and would preserve St. Mary's charity care initiatives, said a joint press release. As Catholic Health World went to press, the organizations were not disclosing the purchase price or investment amount, nor were they saying whether St. Mary's will remain a Catholic campus.
St. Mary's filed for bankruptcy in 2009, citing declining patient volumes, fallout from the recession and expenses incurred from a failed facility acquisition. St. Mary's emerged from bankruptcy in 2010.
For several years, the hospital has been in talks with potential partners. Suitors included St. Louis' Ascension Health Care Network.