Kindred buys hospitals leased from Ventas

Long-term acute-care hospital operator Kindred Healthcare, Louisville, Ky., said it purchased two hospitals being leased from Ventas, a healthcare real estate investment trust, for $21.6 million, including a $500,000 lease termination fee. In a news release, Kindred said it plans to sell the two hospitals, which Ventas said are in LaGrange, Ind., and Menlo Park, Calif. Kindred couldn't be reached for comment by deadline, but according to the Kindred Web site, it operates Menlo Park Surgical Hospital and LaGrange Community Hospital, a 53-bed acute-care hospital. Kindred said in a news release the two hospitals posted a pretax loss of $500,000 through the first nine months of 2004, ended Sept. 30, and are the only Kindred facilities that aren't classified as long-term acute-care hospitals. Kindred operates 72 long-term acute-care hospitals. -- by Joseph Mantone