Hartford HealthCare has emerged as the stalking-horse bidder for Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, which have been mired in uncertainty amid their parent company Prospect Medical Holdings’ bankruptcy case.
The state’s second-largest health system has offered $86.1 million for the Manchester and Rockville hospitals, according to a bankruptcy court filing that sets an Oct. 22 auction date.
Hartford HealthCare formed ECHN Holdings Inc., a subsidiary that is named in the filing as the official bidder.
The “Notice of Designation of Stalking Horse Bidder,” filed Sept. 18 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, says Hartford HealthCare executed an asset purchase agreement on Sept. 12, and would set the floor price for competing offers.
Hartford HealthCare on Friday morning confirmed its interest in acquiring the Manchester and Rockville hospitals.
“Hartford HealthCare is deeply committed to advancing healthcare through greater access, affordability, health equity, and excellence,” it said. “To that end, Hartford HealthCare has entered into an agreement to acquire Manchester Memorial Hospital and Rockville General Hospital from Prospect Medical Holdings. Given Prospect’s restructuring proceedings, this is a complex process that will unfold over the coming weeks.”
HHC added that it has “the capability to stabilize and expand the workforce at these hospitals, provide support to enhance quality and safety, and advance strategic investments in people, programs, technologies, facilities, and community partners.”
Hartford HealthCare already operates seven acute-care hospitals in Connecticut — Hartford Hospital, the Hospital of Central Connecticut, MidState Medical Center, Backus Hospital, Windham Hospital, Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and St. Vincent’s Medical Center.
Meanwhile, state officials are weighing a separate transaction that could overlap with Prospect’s bankruptcy. Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and UConn Health leaders have held high-level talks about a possible $400 million purchase of Bristol, Day Kimball and Waterbury hospitals by the state-owned system. Waterbury is among the three Connecticut hospitals Prospect is seeking to sell, meaning two parallel efforts are now unfolding as the state looks to preserve critical community facilities.
Regulatory pressure in Connecticut has intensified during the bankruptcy. In May, the state Office of Health Strategy allowed Prospect to convert Rockville General into a satellite of Manchester Memorial—an arrangement that preserves emergency and behavioral health services while clearing a path to wind down other lines of care pending additional approvals.
If Hartford HealthCare prevails at auction, the purchase would fold the two Eastern Connecticut Health Network hospitals into one of the state’s largest systems. But any sale will hinge on both the court timetable and state reviews that determine what services must be maintained post-closing.
The recent court filing marks a sharp turn from earlier this month, when Prospect Medical Holdings had yet to name any initial bidders for its Connecticut hospitals despite telling the court in August that announcements were imminent.
Prospect’s delays have come amid slipping timelines. In early September, the company faced a lender-driven schedule calling for a Connecticut auction by Sept. 19 and a final order by Oct. 3 — deadlines it had already missed after earlier targets in May and June.
A CT Mirror story was used in this report.
