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State approves sale of 3 hospitals to Yale New Haven

The agreement clears the way for the sale of Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury Hospital to the New Haven based healthcare organization.

HARTFORD, Conn — Gov. Ned Lamont announced Wednesday state approval for the sale of three hospitals to Yale New Haven Health Services after a protracted period of negotiations. Yale New Haven said the move opens the door for more negotiations. 

The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy announced that it has reached an agreed settlement with Yale New Haven Health Services and Prospect CT, Inc. approving the certificate of need application for YNHHS’s acquisition of Prospect CT’s three Connecticut hospitals, including Waterbury Hospital, Rockville General Hospital, and Manchester Memorial Hospital.

Yale New Haven Health said in a statement, "While OHS’ approval is an important milestone in this transaction, this process is not yet complete. As a next step, we are working with Prospect to reach agreement on several outstanding details that must be resolved to allow the transaction to close. We are hopeful that these details can be addressed, so we can extend the benefits of nonprofit, academic medicine to more patients across our region."

The governor said that he was glad that all the parties reached an agreement on this transaction in a way that ensures that the residents who live near hospitals will continue to have local access to medical care, and the jobs of the employees who provide this care will be preserved under this new ownership.

"I know that many people have been anxious to get to this day, and I completely understand their concerns. While it may have taken a little bit of time to get here, this process is an important part of protections under the law to ensure that patients are receiving affordable, high-quality care and that the hospitals will continue meeting all of their obligations to patients, employees, and the community at large," said Lamont. "I appreciate the hard work of the Office of Health Strategy and the participation of everyone who helped make this agreement happen. With today’s approval by the Office of Health Strategy, I encourage Prospect to work with Yale to reach a deal that will allow them to finalize this purchase and bring a much-needed resolution to this transaction.”

Deborah Weymouth, Waterbury Health and ECHN president and CEO, said in a statement that they are "working closely with Yale's leadership to formalize the remaining ancillary agreements in the coming weeks to transfer ownership of the hospitals," and that an update is expected later on.

"We want to thank our dedicated physicians, employees, and vendors who have continued to provide quality, compassionate care and other services to the communities of Manchester, Rockville and Waterbury since this process was commenced in November 2022," Weymouth said.

Dan Champagne, Vernon mayor, said that the town welcomes the effort to get Eastern Connecticut Health Network out from under the control of Prospect Medical Holdings.

"The Town of Vernon will be carefully reviewing the terms of any agreement and its impact on Rockville General Hospital and our community," Champagne said.

Michael Purcaro, Vernon town administrator, added that "the prospect of having a world-class system such as Yale New Haven Health operating in our community is extremely appealing," and that "our main focus is ensuring that Rockville General Hospital is a fully functioning medical facility and an integral part of Yale's plans for our region."

RELATED: Cyberattack keeps hospitals' computers offline for weeks

The original sale agreement was announced in October 2022. The declining finances of the hospitals and a cyber-attack last year caused concerns that delayed the sale. 

RELATED: ECHN hospitals face financial challenges after cyber attack and pending sale by Yale New Haven Health

Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.

 

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