A Connecticut hospital put itself under chapter 11 protection on Wednesday with plans to sell itself to a nearby healthcare system, five years after an unsuccessful bankruptcy reorganization left it saddled with $40 million in debt, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Johnson Memorial Medical Center Inc. and five affiliates filed for bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, Conn. with a sale agreement in hand to turn over its entire operation — including a 92-bed hospital, 180-bed skilled nursing facility, and hospice-care services arm — to Saint Francis Care Inc.
Nearly every assisted living and nursing facility in the country depends heavily upon its Medicare and Medicaid provider agreements to fund the cost of caring for their residents, and termination by the government of either or both typically results in closure or sale of the affected facility, according to an analysis in today’s Legal Intelligencer. In a recent Florida bankruptcy case — In re Bayou Shores SNF, 2014 Bankr. LEXIS 5200 (M.D. Fla., Dec. 31, 2014) — however, one operator successfully fought back and in the process may have created a pathway for others to maintain access to the Medicare and Medicaid systems over the government's objection. In Bayou Shores, the debtor, which derived substantially all of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, filed a chapter 11 petition in an effort to stay termination of its provider agreements. The debtor was not only successful in enjoining the termination, but subsequently confirmed a chapter 11 plan that included assumption of the provider agreements over the objection of both the federal and state governments. Read more. http://www.thelegalintelligencer.com/id=1202715290025/Chapter-11-Plan-A…
Tengion Inc.’s struggle to stay afloat ended today when the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based regenerative-medicine company filed for voluntary chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the Winston-Salem Journal reported today. The company said in a regulatory filing that a bankruptcy trustee will be appointed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and will be in charge of liquidating the company’s assets — namely its research for kidney and bladder regeneration. Tengion cut back drastically on expenses over the past three years, including eliminating 30 of its 52 jobs in November 2011. It was not clear how many full-time employees remained. The company warned in its third-quarter earnings report Nov. 14 that it had just $5.7 million remaining in cash, and funding options appeared increasingly limited.
Medicaid regulators told a bankruptcy judge that the Rehabilitation Center of St. Petersburg can't survive without the government program's promise to pay for low-income patients, making the Florida nursing home's proposed reorganization impossible, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. In court papers filed on Monday, lawyers for Medicaid formally opposed the nursing home's reorganization plan, which describes how the facility would repay its debts to get out of chapter 11 protection. The 159-bed nursing facility would continue operating under the ownership of Miami resident Tzvi Bogomilsky, court papers show.
The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Northern Berkshire Healthcare so far has recovered roughly $10 million against more than $35 million in secured debt, according to filings at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, The Berkshire Eagle reported yesterday. The collections were included in documents filed by bankruptcy trustee Harold Murphy and his company, Murphy & King, who are seeking compensation for their work on administering the bankruptcy process on behalf of the court. The trustee is seeking, including expenses, fees and commission, more than $1 million for the work completed since the March 28 closing of the North Adams Regional Hospital and the subsequent filing for chapter 7 by its parent company, Northern Berkshire Healthcare. The hospital closed with three days’ notice March 28, giving its 530 employees little time to prepare for the loss of their jobs, and patients little time to seek medical services elsewhere. In August, the former NARH facility and assets were sold for $4 million to Berkshire Medical Center with the approval of the bankruptcy court. The trustee is also seeking $108,510 in fees and more than $5,000 in expenses for accounting services provided by Verdolino & Lowey. The court has set a hearing for the motion on Dec. 18 at the federal court in Worcester, Mass.
The financially struggling Charlotte, N.C.-based C.W. Williams Community Health Center, which primarily serves low-income patients, filed for chapter 11 protection, the Charlotte Observer reported today. Court records show the health center has liabilities of about $1.8 million to its 20 largest creditors. They include Certus Bank of Mauldin, S.C., owed $680,000; the Internal Revenue Service owed $313,000; and Hermosa Construction Group of Atlanta owed $188,000. C.W. Williams’ board Chairman Nelson Adesegha said the decision to file for bankruptcy became necessary because of the center’s “cumulative financial debt” and as the result of recent legal action against the center’s assets.
The Rehabilitation Center of St. Petersburg nursing home in Florida, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, can afford to repay all of its debts but still hasn't negotiated a deal with Medicaid regulators who have threatened to stop paying for low-income patients to stay at the facility, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. New court papers show that the nursing home expects to fully repay its $1.6 million in unsecured debt and to continue operating under the ownership of Tzvi Bogomilsky, a Miami resident, once the 159-bed nursing facility leaves chapter 11 protection. The nursing home filed for bankruptcy in August to block Medicaid officials from terminating its provider agreement.
Hutcheson Medical Center’s board of directors voted Wednesday night to file for chapter 11 protection, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported today. Hutcheson has been unable to repay $20 million it borrowed from Erlanger Health System and is facing a threat of foreclosure. In January, Erlanger filed a civil lawsuit against Hutcheson, who was supposed to pay back the $20.5 million loan by Dec. 1 of last year.
California's Alecto Health Services said it has purchased Fairmont General Hospital , bringing the West Virginia's hospital bankruptcy case to an end, the Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Fairmont lawyer Mike Garrison of the law firm of Spilman Thomas & Battle said Monday in an emailed statement that Alecto, which paid $15 million for Fairmont, completed the sale last week. Fairmont, which filed for chapter 11 protection last September, is exiting bankruptcy not only with a new owner, but with a new name: Fairmont Regional Medical Center. (Subscription required.) http://bankruptcynews.dowjones.com/Article?an=DJFDBR0120140923ea9nje6fq…
The struggling 32-bed Monroe Hospital in Bloomington, Ind., filed for bankruptcy, blaming tough competition for why it only cares for an average of eight patients, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Officials put Monroe Hospital LLC into protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Indianapolis on Friday with a "low patient census and high expenses," said Chief Executive Joseph Roche in court papers, adding that the company owes more than $120 million to its landlord and lender.
