Medical University of South Carolina sets $137 million price cap for 4-hospital deal with CHS
The deal is a milestone for the South Carolina public health system, as it is the first time MUSC has acquired other hospitals.
MUSC School of Medicine-courtesy MUSC
The Medical University of South Carolina has set a price tag for their pending purchase of four hospitals from Community Health Systems subsidiaries, and it's not small.
MUSC has said they would pay up to $137 million for the four hospitals they hope to purchase. Those hospitals include Chester Regional Medical Center, an 82-bed, licensed facility; regional acute-care facility Carolinas Hospital System in Florence with a 396-beds; Springs Memorial Hospital in Lancaster, a 225-bed facility with only private rooms; and Carolinas Hospital System - Marion, a 124-bed acute-care facility that also includes a 92-bed nursing center.
The State Fiscal Accountability Authority approved the deal earlier this week, a local report said.
THE IMPACT
The hospitals set to be acquired by MUSC staff about 2,000 employees that would be added to the MUSC's current ranks of roughly 14,000. In 2017, the four hospitals purchased together provided 129,000 emergency department visits, 159,000 outpatient visits (excluding ED visits), 18,800 hospital admissions, and 339,000 clinic visits with physicians.
The deal is a milestone for the South Carolina public health system, as it is the first time MUSC has acquired other hospitals.
THE TREND
While this transaction may be a first for MUSC, merger and acquisition activity hit a record high in 2018. The volume of deals went up more than 14 percent in 2018 over 2017, and came out to 1,182 totals mergers and acquisitions.
Though the volume of deals was high, the actual value of deals dropped roughly 31 percent from 2017's figures, with the overall 2018 total $121.5 billion. While a drop from 2017's total, that number did exceed the totals from 2015 and 2016.
ON THE RECORD
Dr. Patrick J. Cawley, CEO MUSC Health said, "This dollar amount pertains to a total amount that we may finance for the acquisition of these hospitals from CHS, at fair market value. It is not a final sale amount, more of an 'up to' amount. We remain on track in our discussions and negotiations and anticipate closing on this sale at the end of February."
Twitter: @BethJSanborn
Email the writer: beth.sanborn@himssmedia.com
