{"id":269938,"date":"2025-11-04T01:29:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T01:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/269938\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T01:29:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T01:29:16","slug":"centurion-vows-to-keep-rhode-islands-safety-net-hospitals-open-as-prospect-medical-moves-to-shut-them-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/269938\/","title":{"rendered":"Centurion vows to keep Rhode Island\u2019s safety-net hospitals open as Prospect Medical moves to shut them down"},"content":{"rendered":"

The two hospitals \u2014 Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence and Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence<\/a> \u2014 care for some of Rhode Island\u2019s most-vulnerable patients, including many covered by public insurance. For more than a decade, they\u2019ve been owned by the for-profit Prospect Medical Holdings<\/a>, which filed for bankruptcy<\/a> in January after years of operational and financial mismanagement.<\/p>\n

Centurion<\/a>, a Georgia-based nonprofit, has been working for years to acquire both of the hospitals and convert them to nonprofit control. Centurion<\/a> has never owned or operated hospitals before<\/a>, and the deal has been mired in delays as Centurion struggles to secure $165 million in bond financing that they need to close the sale, which was supposed to have closed in May.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Prospect filed a proposed plan for the two hospitals in bankruptcy court<\/a>, indicating that the hospitals could close as soon as Dec. 31. Centurion\u2019s lawyers fired back on Monday, accusing Prospect of acting in bad faith and trying to use the treat of closure to gain leverage over Centurion and state officials.<\/p>\n

While Prospect has \u201ccharacterized themselves as victims of circumstances, the record tells a different story,\u201d wrote Centurion\u2019s attorneys in court documents. \u201cCenturion has remained unwavering in its commitment to preserving these vital healthcare facilities despite extraordinary challenges, many of which stem from the [Prospect\u2019s] own actions and the deteriorating financing conditions they created through years of mismanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

An attorney for Prospect did not immediately respond to the Globe\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n

Both hospitals are operating at a loss, according to Prospect. The company said the six-month delay in the sale has led to roughly $18.7 million in unanticipated losses, with another $11 million in losses expected by the year\u2019s end. Centurion had already agreed to assume those debts after the sale closes, court records show. <\/p>\n

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, who has long fought against Prospect<\/a> to keep the hospitals open, loosened some of his own conditions<\/a> on the sale in early October, including lowering the amount of cash reserves Centurion needed to have on hand at the time of closing.<\/p>\n

Regulatory approvals did not come easily, said Centurion in court, and the organization has \u201caccepted unprecedented conditions to demonstrate its commitment to these hospitals and the communities they serve,\u201d their attorneys wrote in Monday\u2019s filings.<\/p>\n

The contrast between Centurion\u2019s conduct and Prospect\u2019s \u201ccould not be starker,\u201d wrote Centurion\u2019s lawyers. \u201cThe financial challenges facing these hospitals are not new; they are the direct result of years of underinvestment, misdirection of revenues, and mismanagement by Prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prospect\u2019s financial problems<\/a> extend far beyond Rhode Island. <\/p>\n

The company, once controlled by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners until 2021, owns hospitals across several states and owes millions in back rent to its landlord, Medical Properties Trust, a national health care real estate investment trust<\/a>. Regulators<\/a> in several states, including in Rhode Island, have been putting pressure on the hospital owner for its troubled finances and deteriorating conditions at its facilities.<\/a> Prospect\u2019s liabilities exceeded its assets by more than $2 billion as of 2023.<\/p>\n

Prospect\u2019s motion to close the two Rhode Island-based hospitals creates more problems for Centurion. This new uncertainty threats to \u201cderails the bond financing essential to closing and places these hospitals in immediate jeopardy,\u201d said Centurion in court, as bond markets are extraordinarily sensitive to uncertainty.<\/p>\n

If the bankruptcy judge in Texas allowed the hospitals to close, it could devastate healthcare access to vulnerable populations across Rhode Island and overload other facilities, according Centurion and other local hospital officials. Roger Williams has the state\u2019s only bone marrow transplant program and Level IV Alcohol & Drug Detoxification Program. Fatima is the state\u2019s second-largest behavioral health services facility.<\/p>\n

The two hospitals see more than 50,000 emergency room visits per year, and provide approximately 25 percent of the state\u2019s behavioral health beds while performing other emergency surgeries daily. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe vital serves provided by [these] hospitals are not quickly or easily replaced or moved,\u201d wrote Neronha in his own motion in opposition of the closure, which was also filed on Monday.<\/p>\n

Prospect owes millions in back taxes to the state and municipalities and in unpaid bills to vendors, according to claims filed in court. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe hospitals have been losing money for years under the [Prospect\u2019s] ownership, and they cannot now claim surprise at continued losses or use those losses as justification for abandoning the sale,\u201d said Centurion in court.<\/p>\n

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @alexagagosz<\/a> and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz<\/a>.<\/p>\n