Following a corporate bankruptcy, a protracted lawsuit and, finally, a winning bid, Waterbury Hospital now officially has a new owner.
Following a corporate bankruptcy, a protracted lawsuit and, finally, a winning bid, Waterbury Hospital now officially has a new owner.
As of March 1, the beleaguered hospital has officially become UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, part of the UConn Health Community Network.
Previously owned by for-profit, California-based Prospect Medical Holdings, which filed for federal bankruptcy protection in January 2025, Waterbury Hospital had an extended wait while its fate hung in the balance of a lawsuit between Prospect and Yale New Haven Health System.
YNHH had agreed in April 2022 to acquire Waterbury, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals, all owned and operated by Prospect Medical, for $435 million.
The state’s largest health system later filed a lawsuit seeking to back out of the deal, citing the three hospital’s increasing financial woes, in part related to a data breach that occurred in August 2023. Prospect filed a countersuit seeking to force YNHH to complete the deal.
In September,
YNHH agreed to pay $45 million to settle the competing lawsuits and end its acquisition bid.
That same month, Hartford HealthCare was the sole bidder for Prospect’s two other hospitals in the state, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, offering $86 million.
HHC officially acquired the two hospitals as of Jan. 1.
In November, UConn Health bid $13 million to purchase Waterbury Hospital from Prospect. UCHCFC Waterbury Hospital Corp., a corporation sponsored by UConn Health, was the sole bidder for the hospital in a court-supervised sale auction.
During a special legislative session that same month, state lawmakers approved $390 million in bonding to support capital improvements for Waterbury Hospital. The debt was added to the “UConn 2000” bonding package, the state’s financing program for capital projects at the University of Connecticut.
In December, UConn Health filed an emergency certificate of need application (E-CON) with the state seeking approval to acquire Waterbury Hospital and outlining a $250 million turnaround plan that would convert the for-profit facility back to nonprofit status. The state Office of Health Strategy approved the application in January.
State officials have said Waterbury Hospital would likely close if OHS had denied the application.
Waterbury Hospital’s transition to UConn Health followed months of planning and collaboration with state leaders and community partners, UConn Health officials said Monday.
The UConn Health Community Network now includes UConn Health Waterbury Hospital, UConn Health Community Network Medical Group and UConn Health Waterbury Health at Home.
