Montefiore buying two N.Y. hospitals

Montefiore Medical Center, New York, is buying two more hospitals at fire-sale prices, just months after acquiring bankrupt New York Westchester Square Medical Center. Westchester, N.Y.-based Sound Shore Health System will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Montefiore announced it will purchase Sound Shore's buildings and other assets, assume certain liabilities and provide funding while Sound Shore is in bankruptcy proceedings. Montefiore plans to keep open and operate Sound Shore's two hospitals in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, as well as its nursing home.

The proposed transaction needs bankruptcy court and New York state Department of Health approvals. Sound Shore and Montefiore did not disclose financial details of the transaction, which they said could be completed by the end of the year.

In a statement, Montefiore CEO Dr. Steven Safyer said his hospital "looks forward to building on our existing clinical presence in lower Westchester and working with the dedicated doctors, nurses and staff of Sound Shore and Mount Vernon hospitals and the Schaffer Extended Care Center who have served their patients well over many years.

Montefiore already operates nine health clinics in Westchester.

Earlier in May, negotiations between Westchester Medical Center and the Sound Shore Health System broke off after Westchester Medical ended the merger talks.

"Sound Shore appears to have a dramatically different view than WMC about how to best balance resources between investment in improving the Sound Shore/Mount Vernon facilities and the obligations that the Sound Shore System has accumulated over the years," Westchester Medical said in a statement announcing the deal was off.

It added that it was "prepared to dedicate enormous resources to the effort to keep these clinical sites open and upgrade them to better serve New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and the surrounding communities," but would now pursue alternatives to a merger to meet their healthcare needs.

The Sound Shore system was facing a $3 million to $5 million year-end loss when talks with Westchester Medical began in December.

Montefiore buying 2 Westchester hospitals originally appeared on Crain's New York Business.