The Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm have purchased a 69-bed Lenox, Mass.-based long-term care facility from the Sisters of Providence Health System.
Under the deal that closed Oct. 1, Providence Care Center joined the Germantown, N.Y.-based Carmelite System under the sponsorship of the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. The purchase price was "between $5.5 million and $6 million," according to Christopher McLaughlin, chief operating officer for the Mercy Continuing Care Network of Holyoke, Mass., which is part of Sisters of Providence Health System of Springfield, Mass.
The Carmelite System has renamed the facility Mount Carmel Care Center. The Carmelite System includes 19 long-term care, assisted living, independent living facilities and convents in Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and one facility in Ireland.
McLaughlin said selling the long-term care facility "was a very difficult decision for the Sisters of Providence Health System," but the campus was far away from the health system's other facilities in Holyoke and Springfield, "and had very few synergies with the rest of our health system.
"With the evolution of accountable care organizations, medical home organizations and similar health care delivery and payment arrangements, we thought it would be impossible to coordinate and integrate Providence Care Center on such a geographically diverse basis," McLaughlin said
Through its Mercy Continuing Care Network, Sisters of Providence Health System owns or manages three skilled nursing facilities, two residential care facilities, a home care agency, a hospice program, an adult day health program and an independent living facility.
Carmelite Sisters Superior General Mother Mark Louis Randall, O CARM, said in an announcement of the deal that the sisters view this acquisition as "the passing of the torch from one nonprofit, faith-based organization to another." She said the sisters are committed to continuing the facility's tradition of excellence and compassionate care.
Copyright © 2014 by the Catholic Health Association
of the United States
For reprint permission, contact Betty Crosby
or call (314) 253-3477.