If approved, UConn Health will buy Waterbury Hospital; Hartford HealthCare will buy Rockville, Manchester hospitals
The three Connecticut hospitals owned by the bankrupt Prospect Medical Holdings will soon have new owners under a hospital consolidation plan.
A deal is in place for the University of Connecticut Health Center to buy Waterbury Hospital for $13 million, and Hartford HealthCare has won an $86 million bid to buy Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital.
The Connecticut General Assembly still needs to vote on legislation permitting the deals — and it may happen during this week’s special session — but Gov. Ned Lamont and Waterbury officials held a news conference this week praising the collaboration.
“This agreement represents a significant step toward protecting health care access for the people of Waterbury and the surrounding region,” Lamont in a news release. ”Waterbury families deserve reliable, high-quality care close to home, and this partnership helps guarantee exactly that.”
Deborah Weymouth, president and CEO of Waterbury Health, said the partnership will bring long-term stability, growth and opportunity for the Greater Waterbury community and beyond.
“Your healthcare workforce and your hospital will continue caring for you without interruption — and with UConn Health, that care will be even more secure for the future,” said Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, CEO of UConn Health and executive vice president for health affairs. “This is what a public health system is meant to do — step forward to serve communities when stability and access are at risk.”
UConn Health, which operates the John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, is also exploring deals with Bristol Hospital and Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, both independently owned.
Hartford HealthCare has said it plans to invest $312 million in the Manchester and Rockville hospitals and combine them under one license, with Rockville operating as a campus of Manchester Hospital. A bankruptcy court judge has approved the deal, but it still needs state approval.
In addition to Hartford Hospital, Hartford HealthCare owns Backus Hospital in Norwich, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain and Southington, MidState Medical Center in Meriden, St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, and Windham Community Memorial Hospital in Willimantic.
The Connecticut Hospital Association said Connecticut hospitals and health systems are united in a shared mission to protect access to high-quality care for all patients.
“As hospitals across the nation face complex challenges and uncertainty – including rising costs, workforce shortages, regulatory demands, and federal policy changes impacting coverage – we must continue working collaboratively to support a strong, sustainable healthcare delivery system across the state,” the CHA said in its statement. “By adapting to challenges, Connecticut hospitals can continue to deliver the nation-leading care patients and communities depend on – now and in the future.”
Prospect Medical Holdings, a private equity group that has owned the three hospitals since 2016, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in January. It owes millions in state taxes and is behind on pension payments, officials have said, and also made drastic cuts to services at the three hospitals in recent years as it struggled to pay the bills. Some of the sales money will go toward paying off back taxes, officials have said.
In 2022, Yale New Haven Health signed a purchase agreement with Prospect Medical Holdings to buy the three hospitals for around $435 million, but Yale later sought to lower the price based on deteriorating conditions at the hospitals, such as broken elevators and othe broken equipment. Yale, which in addition to its main hospital on York Street and its St. Raphael campus, owns Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, and Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, later paid $45 million to settle that dispute.
The other two large hospital systems in Connecticut are Northwell (formerly known as Nuvance) and Trinity Health. Northwell owns Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital, Sharon Hospital, and Norwalk Hospital. Trinity Health owns St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, and Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford.
Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Griffin Hospital in Derby, and Stamford Hospital are still independently owned.