Doctors urge RI to OK sale of Roger Williams, Fatima hospitals | Opinion
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Dr. A. Robert Buonanno is chair of the Department of Surgery, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. Dr. N. Joseph Espat is chair of the Department of Surgery, Roger Williams Medical Center. Dr. William Beliveau is chair of the Department of Medicine, Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. Dr. John Stoukides is chair of the Department of Medicine, Roger Williams Medical Center.
We are the clinical leaders of the more than 600 physicians who are affiliated with CharterCARE Health Partners and who care for thousands of patients each year at Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. Combined, we have nearly 150 years of hospital-based clinical experience, making us credible observers of Rhode Island health care.
Today, we write in support of the pending sale of CharterCARE to The Centurion Foundation as the Rhode Island Health Services Council considers the transaction. After months of sharing thousands of pages of documents and answering hundreds of questions, Centurion’s application to purchase CharterCARE under terms of Rhode Island’s Hospital Conversion Act has been deemed complete and regulatory review has begun.
Roger Williams and Fatima provide emergency, acute inpatient, outpatient and specialty care to tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders each year. They provide physicians with the modern facilities and advanced medical technology we need to care for our patients across a spectrum of health services that includes surgery, cancer care, critical care, geriatrics, digestive diseases, rehabilitation, behavioral health and addiction. These hospitals are supported by 2,400 dedicated professionals, making them major employers in our state.
CharterCARE’s roles include teaching the next generation of physicians through Roger Williams’ affiliation with Boston University’s School of Medicine. Our hospitals also partner with other institutions in numerous training programs for nurses, therapists, technologists and more. And they provide important community outreach and education and support a variety of local charitable endeavors.
These are just a few of the reasons why we passionately believe that our hospitals are irreplaceable health resources for Rhode Island. And express our thanks and appreciation for the tremendous job the employees and physicians do every day.
Today, CharterCARE and its hospitals stand at a critical crossroads. CharterCARE’s current owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, is looking to exit the market. Rhode Island has a challenging health reimbursement environment, featuring a density of Medicaid and Medicare populations that, in our opinion, make it difficult for any for-profit health organization to prosper.
More: RI orders owner of Roger Williams, Our Lady of Fatima hospitals to support them better
Centurion’s proposed acquisition would return CharterCARE to a nonprofit status. Relieved of the burden of taxation, corporate overhead and shareholder expectations, and guided by a local management team financially disciplined by low reimbursement, we are confident that CharterCARE can remain an operationally agile health care system.
We believe that Centurion is the best available answer for CharterCARE, and we urge the Health Services Council to approve its sale to The Centurion Foundation.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Centurion’s proposed acquisition would return CharterCARE to a nonprofit status.
