Bristol Health, which operates Bristol Hospital and includes Bristol Health Medical Group, announced Tuesday that it has signed a letter of intent to join the UConn Health Community System.
“We are pleased to announce this afternoon that we fully executed a letter of intent with UConn,” Bristol Health Chairman Lou Auletta Jr. and President & CEO Kurt Barwis said in an emailed statement.
They said that while the letter of intent is non-binding, “it represents an important step towards us becoming part of the UConn Health Community System.”
They added that the next step will be to develop a definitive agreement, “which will likely take some time.”
The announcement comes four days after the state announced during a news conference that a deal for the University of Connecticut Health Center to take over Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam is on track to be finalized this fall.
Day Kimball CEO Kyle Kramer said his hospital and UConn Health expected to sign a letter of intent “in the coming days.”
In an statement from UConn Health emailed to Hartford Business Journal on Tuesday, a spokesperson said UConn Health has now also signed a letter of intent with Day Kimball.
“This is an important step in strengthening partnerships that expand access to care and bring the expertise of an academic medical center closer to the communities we serve,” said Dr. Andy Agwunobi, CEO UConn Health.
The hospital organizations will then have to file with the state Office of Health Strategy (OHS) to approve the transactions, which is expected to happen before the end of May, with the aim of receiving the go-ahead by late summer or early fall.
Additional details about the Bristol Health letter of intent were not released.
Both Bristol Health and Day Kimball are among just a handful of remaining independent hospitals in Connecticut that have been struggling financially for years.
In March, UConn Health completed its purchase of Waterbury Hospital, previously owned by the bankrupt, formerly private equity-backed operator, Prospect Medical Holdings. Earlier this month, the university’s board of directors also approved the takeover of a DCF-run adolescent psychiatric facility.
