Dive Brief:
- Community Health Systems (CHS), based in Franklin, Tenn., has finalized a $425 million deal to sell Rockwood Health System of Spokane, Wash. to MultiCare Health System of Tacoma, Wash.
- Rockwood Health System is comprised of Deaconess Hospital in Spokane and Valley Hospital in Spokane Valley, Wash., and includes a multi-specialty clinic.
- The deal transfers the system from CHS, which has accrued $15 billion in debt while operating in 22 states across the U.S., to a regional system that is working to broaden its reach through the Pacific Northwest.
Dive Insight:
The deal is part of what will potentially be mass divestitures by CHS to bring down its massive debt. The company said during its Q3 earnings call that it has sale plans for 17 hospitals in progress, across a total of seven deals.
Earlier this year, the company spun off 38 hospitals into an independent company called Quorum Health and divested its share in a four-hospital joint venture. It also sold off its home health division last month.
CHS said this summer that it planned to narrow its holdings to focus on services in markets where it owns multiple hospitals, and on enhancing some specialties in certain markets.
The new deal is slated to close in Q1 2017, pending regulatory approvals.
Rockwood Health has 3,600 employees and all those in good standing will be able to keep their jobs, according to The Spokesman-Review. Also, MultiCare Health, a nonprofit with more than 11,000 employees operating hospitals and clinics in the south Puget Sound region, will now be able to expand its reach to Eastern Washington.