Ailing Lower Bucks Hospital sold to California chain
Prime Healthcare will invest $10 million+, lend $3 million
Ailing Lower Bucks Hospital sold to California chain
Joseph N. DiStefano
Prime Healthcare Services, the California-based, for-profit chain of 18 mostly West Coast hospitals and which recently acquired Roxborough Memorial Hospital, says it also plans to acquire 156-bed Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol.
Prime will spend "at a minimum" $10 million for "needed capital improvements," company spokesman Edward Barrera told me, correcting the company's earlier statement that it would invest "up to" $10 million.
Prime, owned by chief executive Dr. Prem Reddy, has also made $3 million in working capital finance available to Lower Bucks, and will "honor all contracts, liabilities, and union agreements," which cover nurses and maintenance workers. Total staff includes 400 doctors and 1,400 "employees and volunteers."
Prime specializes in hospitals with "financial problems" that treat mostly poor patients and rely heavily on government reimbursement, said Albert Mezzaroba, the Lower Bucks CEO who closed the deal. He told me the chain has a history of cutting expenses without cancelling medical programs, and gives special attention to bill collection. Mezzaroba said he wasn't sure Prime's long-term plans for him.
Lower Bucks filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010, and exited earlier this year after State Sen. Tommy Thompson convinced the legislature to use $14 million in casino table games profit payments from the Parx casino to fund part of the hospital's bond debt. SSG Group of West Conshohocken and the Saul Ewing law firm advised Lower Bucks.
this is a great job by the ceo and the senator to save a much needed hospital— 67coronet
the great job was all Tomlinson.. we need more legislators like him!- Well, my comments aren't appearing. Suffice to say, please look up this company [...]. They are under so many investigations, from malnutrition to overbilling, to bumping beds (only on Medicare cases, of course), of patient trapping, of trying to pass off a Eurocopter for Lex Reddy as a Medicare expense, they're being sued by Kaisaer Permanente - and these are all CURRENT investigations. Doesn't ANYBODY do any research anymore, especially for a so-called "business" column? This should have that little banner that says "Ad" across the top, kind of like that fluff job this rag put up about Amerisource Bergen, who is now under investigation as well.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus
- Cicero, as I recall, this newspaper has front-paged Medicare fraud findings, charitable-endowment looting, careless research procedures leading to patient death, patterns of poor supervision leading to same, and many other offenses by and against major Philadelphia teaching hospitals as well as community institutions and the for-profit chains that have come and gone here. Those stories are the results of weeks, sometimes months, of careful reporting. Now I could, today, have linked the California press stories in which members of the SEIU union who have been trying to organize Prime hospitals allege there are investigations of Medicare abuse by this chain. Pretty outrageous allegations, if true. Which the company has denied, and the feds refuse to confirm. You think linking those stories is research. I think we need to work harder than that. Don't worry, my colleagues who cover hospitals will. But my job, among the other things I do around here, is to post these deals as they come in, clearly, accurately. And tell the bare facts of who had bought this institution that employs 1,000+ people and floats on millions in state and federal taxpayer dollars. Would be different if I had criminal convictions and other hard information to link. Please do send, if you have those.— Joe D
- JOE D - a great reply to the usual BS postings here. Instead of intelligent discourse, too many posters feel free to provide links that only give one side of an often complex story - especially anything of a political nature.— jimmy2x
- The Delaware valley has too many hospital beds- one of the reason our healthcare expenses are in the highest 10% in the USA. Small struggling hospitals could close and there would be no adverse impact on the health of the community.— Drj827
