Photo by Mike Sherry
Mike Slubowski, chief executive with the nonprofit Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System.
A California-based company has completed its acquisition of two Kansas City-area hospitals.
Prime Healthcare Services has finalized the purchase of Providence Medical Center, a 163-bed facility in Kansas City, Kan., and Saint John Hospital, a 56-bed facility in Leavenworth. The hospitals were part of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System.
Sisters of Charity officials said the sale would result in a net loss of about $121 million to the system, when taking into account the more than $100 million in outstanding debt it holds on the facilities and $78 million in operating losses accumulated the past decade.
At a public hearing on the sale last week, much of the audience comment came from employees of Providence and Saint John who said they supported the proposed sale. They said the agreement seemed like the best way to keep the two hospitals open to serve a community need.
But the sale is not sitting well with everyone. Kansas Public Radio health reporter Bryan Thompson has details as part of the ongoing project, “Kansas Health: A Prescription for Change.”
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