Illinois sale of 9 hospitals could lead to one facility’s closure

Even as Prime Healthcare looks to complete a deal to acquire Ascension’s nine hospitals in Illinois, the system says it’s planning to close one of the hospitals.

Prime Healthcare recently announced a deal to acquire Ascension’s nine hospitals in Illinois, but the system has told state regulators it's planning to close one of the facilities.

In a notice filed with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services and Review board earlier this month, Prime Healthcare and Ascension say the plans call for the closure of Ascension St. Elizabeth in Chicago after the transaction is finalized.

In its filing, Prime says that the only inpatient service offered at St. Elizabeth is treatment for acute mental illness, and that the facility’s average daily census in 2023 was around 17 patients. Prime also notes that the facility is only 1.5 blocks from Ascension Saint Mary Hospital in Chicago, which also provides services for acute mental illness.

“As a result, it is not believed that the proposed discontinuation will hinder the ability of area residents to access hospital services in any appreciable manner,” Prime said in the filing.

Prime said it plans to close Ascension St. Elizabeth within six months of finalizing the deal with Ascension and will repurpose the facility for other uses. The Chicago Tribune first reported the plans to close the facility.

The Tribune also reported that Prime is paying $370 million to acquire Ascension’s hospitals and related facilities in Illinois.

Prime Healthcare’s purchase price for Ascension St. Elizabeth is $5 million, according to documents filed with Illinois regulators.

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In its filing with the state, Prime Healthcare also pledged to offer proper notifications to the community, including patients, providers and local EMS services.

Prime Healthcare announced its plans to acquire Ascension’s hospitals last month. The system also said it would invest $250 million to upgrade the hospitals and improve technology in the facilities. Prime Healthcare has committed to hiring all of the employees at the facilities.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services and Review board is scheduled to consider the planned sale of the facilities at a meeting on Oct. 29. The board is planning to issue a report on the deal on Oct. 15, and members of the public can weigh in on the report’s conclusions until Oct. 21.

Prime said the system and Ascension both concluded that Ascension St. Elizabeth should be repurposed into a community resource that “addresses a broader spectrum of community needs,” Scott Barboza, a Prime spokesperson, wrote in an email to Chief Healthcare Executive®. Prime plans to work with community partners to find a new use for the facility, he wrote.

The acute care services at Ascension St. Elizabeth will be consolidated at Ascension Saint Mary in Chicago, and Prime plans to invest millions in the facility.

Under the deal, Prime Healthcare would acquire these Ascension Illinois hospitals: Ascension Holy Family (Des Plaines); Ascension Mercy (Aurora); Ascension Resurrection (Chicago); Ascension Saint Francis (Evanston); Ascension Saint Joseph (Joliet); Ascension Saint Joseph (Elgin); Ascension Saint Mary (Kankakee); and Ascension Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth (Chicago). The deal also includes two ambulatory surgery centers.

Assuming the deal is finalized, Prime would also acquire Ascension’s physician practices, post-acute care facilities and senior living facilities in Illinois.

Sunny Bhatia, MD, president and chief medical officer of Prime Healthcare, said the acquisition of Ascension’s Illinois hospitals enables the company to establish a presence in the Chicago region, the nation’s third largest metropolitan area.

“This transaction will enable a continuation of this tradition and expand our dedication to compassionate care, clinical excellence, and service to patients and the greater Chicago community,” Bhatia said in a statement last month.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of the deal last month, Polly Davenport, president and CEO of Ascension Illinois, said the sale will ensure “that the greater Chicago area has sustainable, quality healthcare access long into the future.”

Prime, a for-profit health system based in Ontario, Calif., operates 44 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient facilities in 14 states.

Ascension, a non-profit Catholic system based in St. Louis, operates 139 hospitals in 19 states. But Ascension has been striking deals to sell some of its hospitals as the system has been looking to reduce the size of its footprint and improve its finances.

In June, Ascension announced a deal to sell five of its hospitals in Alabama to the University of Alabama Health System in a $450 million deal. Ascension also announced a deal in the spring to sell three hospitals to MyMichigan Health. Earlier this month, MyMichigan Health completed the acquisition of the facilities.

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