Prospect Medical Holdings, the California-based owner of two cash-strapped safety net hospitals in Rhode Island, faces a possible bankruptcy filing, a move that would spell added uncertainty for Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.
Prospect’s exploration of restructuring was reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the company had recently missed rent payments to landlord Medical Properties Trust.
An Atlanta-based nonprofit, the Centurion Foundation, has received state approval to buy Prospect Medical’s two Rhode Island hospitals, but Centurion is still working to line up its financing for the deal.
If Prospect Medical pursues bankruptcy, that would spell additional delays for the sale of the hospitals in Rhode Island.
A Centurion spokesman, who was formerly the spokesman for Prospect’s RI hospitals, did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Attorney General Peter Neronha said Prospect Medical’s financial problems reflect what he called “the devastating effects of private equity on our healthcare system.”
More information about a possible bankruptcy should be forthcoming in the next few days, he said.
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
