Hearings Set On Sale Of Daughters Of Charity Hospitals
LYNWOOD (CBS/AP) —Two labor unions are at odds Monday over the sale of the Daughters of Charity hospital chain.
Registered nurses plan a week's worth of rallies as the California attorney general's office holds hearings on the fate of six nonprofit Catholic hospitals.
The nurses are encouraging approval of the sale of the 150-year-old Daughters of Charity hospitals, which is known for serving the poor, to Prime Healthcare Services Inc., which has promised to maintain existing services, KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports.
Starting Monday in Lynwood, the attorney general's office will hold six public hearings in each of the communities served by the hospitals — including Los Angeles, San Jose, Gilroy, Moss Beach and Daly City.
Prime, based in Ontario, operates 29 hospitals in California and eight other states. In October, it announced an agreement to buy the hospitals from Daughters of Charity, which had been seeking a buyer. The sale price has not been disclosed.
"Prime's the only operator who's guaranteed to keep all the hospitals open, all the emergency rooms, which are critical for our patients, open," said Debra Gerbell with the California Nurses Association.
The for-profit chain agreed to assume about $350 million in pension debt, retire about $400 million in other debts and liabilities, spend $150 million on upgrades and keep as many of the 7,600 jobs as possible.
Last month Robert Issai, Daughters of Charity's president and chief executive officer, said Prime's bid "was superior to all others" and that Daughters of Charity talked to 133 interested parties before deciding on four finalists.
For years, Prime has faced criticism and government investigations surrounding its billing practices and handling of patient privacy.
Attorney General Kamala Harris has until Feb. 6 to approve or reject the sale or impose conditions.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
