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.
Copyright © 2012 by the Catholic Health Association of the United States
For reprint permission, contact Betty Crosby or call (314) 253-3477.