'Surprise:' Prospect-Charter Looking At Memorial

PAWTUCKET, RI — Prospect Health / Charter Care, which operates Fatima and Roger Williams hospitals, is making a bid to buy Memorial Hospital, which closed Jan. 1. The for-profit company, which is based in California, made the announcement Thursday morning at a press conference with Pawtucket mayor Donald Grebien and Charter Care executive John Holiver, WJAR-TV reported.

Click here for Channel 10's story.

But the plan came as a big surprise to Care New England, which owned the hospital and had to close it Jan. 1, due to financial losses.

“We made the difficult decision more than six months ago to close Memorial Hospital and begin transitioning the facility into an outpatient center," said Jim Beardsworth, spokesman for Care New England. "In the process, we preserved 200 local jobs and positioned community-based health care for a solid future. Today’s announcement by Prospect Health/CharterCare certainly comes as a surprise as there has been no previous discussion or formal proposal submitted to Care New England."

Charter Care said it wants to reopen the emergency room at Memorial. Beardsworth expressed skepticism.

“Any plan to reopen the closed facility, as suggested today, is simply unfeasible especially since we previously had conversations with CharterCare about buying Memorial and those proved fruitless," he said. "Today’s announcement represents nothing more than an opportunity to muddy the health care landscape with an ill-conceived plan with no true thought for serving the community need.”

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