By BETSY TAYLOR
TL Management plans to buy the assets of Bon Secours New York Health System including Schervier Nursing Care Center and the Schervier Apartments and other property on its 9-acre campus in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx. The companies did not disclose the purchase price.
Brooklyn-based TL Management, a privately held company with over 100 skilled nursing facilities, said on March 31 that because the potential sale of the nonprofit Catholic system requires the approval of government and church bodies, they expect the transaction to close in 12 to 18 months from the announcement.
TL Management's skilled nursing facilities are primarily located in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida and Texas, the organizations said in a news release.
Laura Amerman, director of marketing, communication and development for Bon Secours New York Health System, said the system had put out a request for proposals in August of 2015 to pursue a partnership, merger, joint venture or sale. "The health care environment in New York is challenging for long-term care," she said. Bon Secours New York Health System had been operating at a financial loss; Amerman did not detail the extent of the loss, saying fiscal year 2015 financial statements had not yet been released.
Amerman said the operating losses were not the main reason for the sale. Bon Secours New York Health System viewed strong partnerships with other health care providers and the ability to make capital investments to develop services as necessary to its success in the market. Because the system didn't have another presence in the New York City area, it didn't feel it was effectively positioned to meet those needs moving forward, she explained.
Amerman said the Bon Secours New York Health System facilities will not be Catholic after the sale. They will become for-profit. However, she said of TL Management, "The way they operate allows each facility to continue its own culture." She said a chapel on-site and a meditation and prayer room will remain. Spiritual care will continue, with both on-site chaplains and with visits from religious leaders who minister to residents of several faith traditions.
TL Management has agreed to hire "substantially all" of the Bon Secours New York Health System workforce, or roughly 500 full and part-time employees, said Amerman. She said at the time of the purchase agreement that no leadership changes were being announced.
Bon Secours New York Health System, a nonprofit Catholic system based in the Bronx, is part of Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours Health System. The parent system will maintain a presence in New York state after the sale through Bon Secours Charity Health System. The Suffern, N.Y.-based Bon Secours Charity Health System, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, includes three hospitals, a home health agency, two long-term care facilities and an assisted living facility.