CHP, Community complete three-hospital deal

Catholic Health Partners exited Pennsylvania after closing a deal to sell three Catholic hospitals to Community Health Systems.

Community, based in Franklin, Tenn., paid $150 million for the three Pennsylvania hospitals, as was previously announced, a spokesman for Cincinnati-based CHP, said. The deal is the latest acquisition of Catholic hospitals by an investor-owned, secular system, including the $895 million deal by Cerberus Capital Management for Caritas Christi Health Care, now Steward Health Care System.

Community's latest deal brings its affiliated Pennsylvania acute-care hospitals to 13, according to a company news release. The system acquired Regional Hospital of Scranton; Tyler Memorial Hospital, Tunkhannock; and the long-term acute-care hospital Special Care Hospital, Nanticoke. Community also has made an unsolicited offer for Tenet Healthcare Corp., a Dallas-based system with 53 hospitals, including two in Philadelphia. Community raised its offer for Tenet. Tenet rejected a prior offer and filed a lawsuit alleging Community's admissions suggest the hospital operator improperly admitted Medicare patients.