Hospital’s sale to be finalized in mid-October

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

BOARDMAN — The sale of Mahoning Valley Hospital to Progressive Healthcare, a for-profit South Carolina company, is expected to be finalized by mid-October.

If the sale is completed as anticipated, it will occur just a week after MVH plans to transfer patients to its new 28-bed facility from temporary quarters at Greenbrier Healthcare Services at 8064 South Ave., said Michael Senchak, MVH president and chief executive officer.

Senchak said Progressive plans to continue operations of the hospital’s two locations: The new Boardman Campus at 8049 South Ave., and the Trumbull Campus located on the ninth floor of Trumbull Memorial Hospital at 1350 E. Market St. in Warren.

Senchak said MVH is scheduled to take occupancy of its new hospital on Sept. 14 and move in patients on Oct. 7.

The new MVH Boardman Campus cost $11.8 million to build, $9.25 million of which was financed with low-interest obtained through the Mahoning County Board of Commissioners. The bonds will be retired when the sale is finalized, Senchak said.

The MVH Board of Board of Trustees announced Thursday that it had signed an asset purchase agreement to sell the hospital to Progressive, which has its headquarters in Charleston.

The purchase price and details will be disclosed after completion of the sale, which, because MVH is a not-for-profit company, is subject to approval by the Ohio Attorney General, Senchak said.

He said requests for proposals to buy MVH were sent to five companies in December 2007, three of which expressed interest.

The requests for proposals were issued by MVH the same month that Humility of Mary Health Partners announced that it was leasing space to Select Specialty Services in HMHP’s new St. Elizabeth Health Center Boardman Campus, near where MVH was locating its new facility.

Select Specialty, like MVH, is a long-term, acute-care hospital for patients discharged from an acute care hospital, but deemed to ill to go home.

Senchak said last December that because of a change in federal regulations, Select, which was located in St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown, would be permitted to receive 50 percent of its patients from St. Elizabeth.

Previously, the maximum was 25 percent and Select had announced plans to build a stand-alone hospital on Youngstown’s North Side. As long as it remained 25 percent, MVH could survive. But the new percentage would make it very difficult financially for MVH, Senchak said at the time.

Senchak, who will be chief executive officer of MVH for Progressive, is very upbeat about the change of ownership.

“I’m very excited and optimistic about what in front of us,” he said.

While the trustees had a very difficult decision, they believe the sale is in the best long-term interest of the hospital, its employees and the community, he said.

Senchak said Progressive representatives were here Thursday meeting with MVH’s 80 employees, and assuring them they will continue to have jobs and there will be no cut in wages or benefits.

He said Progressive has also assured MVH leadership that they are committed to continue with the mission of the hospital, including providing quality patient care with good clinical outcomes, providing care to the Medicaid population, and the retention of current hospital employees.

alcorn@vindy.com