Tennessee-based health care system still interested in Lourdes Medical Center

The Tennessee-based Capella Healthcare remains interested in acquiring the Tri-Cities’ oldest health system.

But officials aren’t providing a timeline for the possible change in ownership of Lourdes Health Network in Pasco.

Specifics of what that change would mean for staff and services at Lourdes are in short supply, although a Capella spokeswoman said the company’s focus “will be on continued growth and strategic investment for long-term success.”

This past summer, Capella signed a letter of intent with Lourdes and Ascension — which is Lourdes’ parent organization — to acquire the Pasco health system.

Officials said they wouldn’t release additional details until a definitive agreement was in place, and they’ve largely kept to that.

Ascension’s chief communications and marketing officer told the Herald last week that no update was available, and he didn’t respond to followup queries.

Beth Wright, a Capella spokeswoman, confirmed that her company remains in the midst of a “due diligence” research process, and said she won’t have more information until that’s complete.

Ascension is the biggest nonprofit health system in the country and the largest Catholic health system in the world, with 1,900 hospitals and sites.

Capella is a privately held company that owns and/or operates several acute care and specialty hospital facilities.

If Capella does acquire Lourdes, the transaction won’t happen immediately.

It would require state approval through the Certificate of Need process, and an application hasn’t yet been filed with the state. The process typically takes several months.

A sale also may trigger the state’s review process for acquisition of a nonprofit hospital by a for-profit entity, said Janis Sigman, manager of the state Certificate of Need program.

The Certificate of Need and hospital conversion review processes include opportunities for public input, Sigman said.

While Capella is considering bringing Lourdes into its fold, it’s gone through a change itself. In July, the company announced that it was being acquired by Medical Properties Trust, a health care real estate investment trust, in a $900 million deal.

Wright, from Capella, said that won’t affect a potential Lourdes acquisition aside from making Capella “an even stronger partner for the future.”

Asked if a Lourdes acquisition would bring major changes in staffing or services at the Pasco health network, Wright said Capella’s focus would be growth and making strategic investments for success in the long run.

“The research we are doing now is the first step in determining what might be needed,” Wright said in a statement. “We are a growth-oriented company looking to expand services and invest capital which all leads to an increased employment base.”

Ascension and Capella officials have said they support preserving Lourdes’ religious heritage. The faith-based hospital system dates to the early 1900s, when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet arrived in Pasco.

If the acquisition does go through, it would mark the second major new health care partnership locally in recent years.

In 2014, Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland joined forces with Providence Health & Services, a large Catholic health care network operating in five states.

That partnership didn’t involve a sale, but instead an affiliation, and a Certificate of Need wasn’t required.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Tennessee-based health care system still interested in Lourdes Medical Center."