Dive Brief:
- California's Prime Healthcare Services announced Thursday that it has completed its acquisition of North Vista Hospital, a North Las Vegas, NV-based a 177-bed acute care hospital.
- North Vista Hospital, which has been serving patients since 1959, has a 20-bed emergency department and a comprehensive heart care program.
- Vince Variale, who has 30 years of healthcare management experience, will serve as North Vista Hospital's new CEO.
Dive Insight:
Prime's acquisition march continues. Aside from the usual concerns voiced by hospitals surrounding a possible take-over by Prime—Prime has been known to cancel all of the health insurance contracts the hospital has in place during acquisitions—it's important not to forget that Prime is going public in the not-too-distant future. The California-based hospital chain is already the fifth-largest in the United States, and is still growing. Prime recently announced that it would grow from 29 hospitals to 42 by April, pushing its annual revenue up to $4.5 billion (from $2.5 billion), making it the fourth-largest system in the country. In fact, according to CEO Prem Reddy, there are "no limits" on the system's capacity for growth. North Vista is yet another notch in Prime's belt.