ORANGE COUNTY: Four Hospitals Change Hands
The Orange County hospital market saw a spate of consolidation in the past week, as Long Beach, CA-based Memorial Health Services and Nashville-based Vanguard Health Systems each recently acquired two area hospitals. Not-for-profit Memorial purchased the 139-bed La Palma Intercommunity Hospital and the 205-bed Martin Luther Hospital Anaheim for undisclosed terms from Catholic Healthcare West, the Los Angeles Times reports (Ballon, 9/3). Memorial Health now owns five facilities in the county and plans to make some changes to its new acquisitions. Martin Luther's functions, such as patient billing, purchasing and information services will be consolidated with those of Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, also owned by Memorial Health, and will be renamed Anaheim Memorial Medical Center West Campus. Memorial Health also has enlisted the services of Ernst & Young consultants to evaluate La Palma's future uses, which could remain as is, "specializing in rehabilitation or some other service, or whether we'll just liquidate the assets," said Memorial CEO and President Tom Collins (Prendez, Long Beach Press-Telegram, 9/2).
Meanwhile, Vanguard Health Systems expanded its holdings from one to three with the acquisition of the 219-bed West Anaheim Medical Center and the 130-bed Huntington Beach Hospital, both of which were owned by Dallas-based Triad Hospitals Inc. The Los Angeles Times reports that Vanguard "plans no staff cuts and expects to upgrade equipment and expand services at both hospitals" (Fields, 9/4).