Quorum Health Corp. will sell Watsonville (Calif.) Community Hospital to Halsen Healthcare for up to $40 million, the organizations announced Friday after signing a definitive agreement.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter, subject to customary approvals and conditions. Quorum continues to shed hospitals as it looks to reduce its $1.2 billion in long-term debt. That will be an ongoing strategy through 2019, CEO Robert Fish said in the fourth-quarter earnings call.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum owns, leases or operates 26 hospitals in rural and midsized markets across 14 states. The system was formed in 2016 when its former parent company Community Health Systems spun off more than three dozen hospitals.
The hospital chain reported a net loss of $200.2 million in 2018, which was up from 2017's $114.2 million net loss, according to Modern Healthcare's financial database. Total operating revenue during the year fell 9% to $1.88 billion from $2.07 billion in 2017. On a same-store basis, operating revenue slightly increased to $1.86 billion from $1.82 billion.
Quorum said last month that it would outsource its revenue-cycle management to R1 RCM.
