CHS plans $10M upgrade for Forum facilities

YOUNGSTOWN — Just two weeks after acquiring the bankrupt Forum Health, Community Health Systems has taken its first step in fulfilling its pledge to improve the beleaguered hospital system.

CHS announced Thursday that it will invest $10 million to acquire new medical technologies and upgrade physician equipment at Forum Health facilities by the end of the year.

Capital investment is one of the terms of the Tennessee-based hospital company’s $120 million purchase of the Forum system, which was finalized Oct. 1. The company has promised to invest at least $80 million in capital over the next five years.

The initial $10 million investment follows a “head-to-toe assessment” of Forum’s existing equipment, said David Fikse, the hospital system’s newly appointed chief executive.

For the complete story, see Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com