Becker's Hospital Review

71 CFO / FINANCE Aurora Health Care to build $130M facility By Alia Paavola M ilwaukee-based Aurora Health Care plans to con- struct a $130 million ambulatory surgery center and physician office building in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The proposal includes building a 100,000-square-foot out- patient surgery center and a three-story, 100,000-square- foot facility for medical offices. The site of the new facility will be located approximately 10 miles from where the Foxconn Technology Group, which makes products for Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Sony, plans to construct its sprawling industrial campus. Construction will begin in summer 2018, with a comple- tion date scheduled for spring 2020. "The region continues to grow with multiple major de- velopments adding to local health needs," said Lisa Just, interim president of Aurora Health Care's Racine, Wis., Kenosha Wis., and northern Illinois patient service market, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Our new and expanded services will enhance patient access for the growing numbers of residents and employers." n Quorum sees net loss narrow to $27M, targets up to $253M in hospital divestitures By Ayla Ellison B rentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health ended the fourth quarter of 2017 with a net loss, but the compa- ny hopes to continue to improve its financial position by restructuring its portfolio. e 29-hospital system, which is a spinoff of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, said revenues were nearly flat year over year at $515 million, according to preliminary financial documents released March 7. e company said it made progress in collecting outstanding pay- ments from California and Illinois in the fourth quarter of 2017. Quorum received $51 million of the roughly $65 million owed to the company for care provided to Medicaid and state employee pa- tients in Illinois. e company also received $31 million of $50 mil- lion in outstanding payments from the California Hospital Quality Assurance Fee program. Quorum ended the fourth quarter of 2017 with a net loss of $27 million, compared to a net loss of $91 million in the same period of the year prior. Quorum is focused on restructuring its portfolio to improve finan- cial performance. e company began a divestiture spree in 2016 and is currently targeting $203 million to $253 million in asset sales over the next one to two years, including hospitals and other facili- ties that are already under definitive purchase agreements. As of March 1, Quorum had received $47 million in net proceeds from the divestiture of eight hospitals. Since Dec. 31, 2017, Quorum has closed a 156-bed hospital in Ohio, entered a definitive agree- ment to sell a 77-bed hospital in Georgia, and completed the sale of a 70-bed hospital in Illinois. n 59-bed Alabama hospital avoids closure By Ayla Ellison L akeland Community Hospital, a 59-bed hospital in Haleyville, Ala., was slated to shut down at the end of the month, but it will now remain open, according to WBRC. In November, officials said the hospital was closing due to dwin- dling reimbursements. Hospital CEO Debbie Pace said officials explored "every viable option" before making the decision to close Lakeland Community Hospital, which is the only hospital in Win- ston County. However, the hospital will remain open thanks to efforts by several groups. On March 31, Clinton, Tenn.-based Curae Health, which currently owns Lakeland Community Hospital, will transfer own- ership of the facility to the Haleyville and Winston County Hospi- tal Authority. Once the ownership change occurs, Nashville, Tenn.- based Java Medical Group will operate the hospital, according to the report. In December, Haleyville leaders approved a 1-cent sales tax, which will help support the hospital. Half of the revenue from the sales tax will go toward the hospital authority, and the other half will be used to pay hospital debt. n

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