OJAI: Foundation Completes Purchase of Community Hospital
After more than one year of negotiations, the not-for-profit Ojai Valley Community Hospital Foundation announced Tuesday that it had purchased the Ojai Valley Community Hospital for $2 million, the Los Angeles Times reports. The foundation plans to turn the 110-bed facility into a not-for- profit facility, a move that could mean "hefty property tax savings" for the hospital. The designation also qualifies the facility for charitable contributions and could enable the hospital to reopen its maternity ward and make some expansions, according to foundation board President Alan Rains. The hospital's new tax status also could generate enough profit to cover the costs of retrofitting the building to meet seismic standards. Hospital records indicate that before the sale, the facility was earning $300,000 to $400,000 a year on a $15 million budget. Tennessee-based Province Healthcare Inc., the hospital's previous owner, expects to record an "after-tax loss of $6 million." Top hospital officials Victoria Alexander and Norm Bergman will keep their positions (Davis, Los Angeles Times, 10/4).
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