Chesterfield, Mo.-based Mercy and Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives are in preliminary discussions over the possible transfer of sponsorship of Mercy Hot Springs hospital and physician clinic to CHI and its St. Vincent Health System in Little Rock, Ark.
Barb Meyer, Mercy's vice president of marketing and communications, released a brief confirmation of the talks last month on behalf of the two systems, shortly before Catholic Health World went to press.
In June, Mercy and Capella Healthcare of Franklin, Tenn., ended their discussions to join together Mercy Hot Springs and Capella's National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs, Ark., after more than a year of due diligence to create a new health care delivery system for the region under Capella's ownership. Mercy Hot Springs includes a 282-bed acute care hospital and the only Level II trauma center in Southwest Arkansas.
The proposed purchase by the for-profit, secular Capella had been subject to approvals by the Federal Trade Commission and the Vatican. Neither entity had officially approved or rejected the partnership, Meyer has said. However, there had been concerns raised about the proposed partnership, including from Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of the Diocese of Little Rock, who said he was concerned about the possible consequences of such a sale for the people of Hot Springs, particularly the poor. The sale would have meant Mercy Hot Springs would have converted to for-profit tax status. Capella had agreed to continue to follow the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services at Mercy Hot Springs for at least five years, according to information put out by the systems.
Richard Feinstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, said his office had been prepared to challenge the proposed transaction as being anticompetitive.