Changes coming to the Tri-Cities Cancer Center after hospital sales

The sale of two Tri-City hospitals to a for-profit company will mean some changes at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center.

Under its bylaws, the cancer center must remain nonprofit — a requirement complicated by the sale of Lourdes Medical Center and Trios Health.

Attorneys are working on an arrangement that will allow the cancer center to remain nonprofit while still being owned by Trios, Lourdes and Kadlec Regional Medical Center, as it’s always been, said Chuck DeGooyer, the center’s chief executive officer.

The details should be worked out within the next six months, he told the Herald.

If the center converted to a for-profit, it would have to take on new property and incomes taxes, and it would lose its foundation, DeGooyer said.

It’s charitable arm, the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation, raises about $1.5 million annually.

In all, about 500 to 600 patients come through the center each month, either for active treatment or follow up.

Hospital officials say the changes to the center’s ownership structure will happen behind the scenes.

Patient care won’t be affected or interrupted, said DeGooyer.

“It’s business as usual. We’ll continue to care for patients as we always have,” he said.

The cancer center started nearly 25 years ago as a joint venture between Kadlec in Richland, Lourdes Health in Pasco and what’s now Trios Health in Kennewick. (Trios used to be called Kennewick General Hospital).

At that time, all three were nonprofit health systems.

Kadlec has stayed that way, although it’s gone from being a freestanding system to part of the nonprofit Providence St. Joseph Health.

However, Lourdes and Trios both recently were purchased by the for-profit RCCH HealthCare Partners, based in Tennessee.

The Trios sale closed in August and the Lourdes sale closed at the beginning of September.

Tri-Cities Cancer Center has staff of about 50 and a governing board.

The center provides cancer treatment, plus a host of support services, from patient navigation to survivorship help.

Kadlec also operates a hematology and oncology clinic at the center, and Tri-Cities Laboratory is on site.

Trios and Lourdes have hematology and oncology services that are linked with the center.

For now, DeGooyer said, Trios’ stake is being held under the Kennewick Public Hospital District, the public entity that used to operate Trios and has remained in place after the sale.

Lourdes’ stake is held by the nonprofit Ascension, Lourdes’ previous owner.

RCCH spokesman Jeff Atwood said his company is committed to the cancer center and to working through the logistics.

“This is a really important service line in the community,” he said.