Acquisition Preserves Historic Hospital from Closure
A team of Holland & Knight attorneys completed a transaction in which client MSMC Investors LLC acquired St. Francis Hospital and Health Center from SSM Health Care. The historic 410-bed hospital, founded in 1905, was slated for closure after earlier efforts to find a buyer were unsuccessful. The acquisition was successfully completed on an unusually aggressive timetable. The hospital is the largest employer in Blue Island, and is known for its high quality service and excellence in cardiac care.
The terms of the transfer from SSM to MSMC are confidential. However, Lawrence Krule, the Chief Restructuring Officer of MetroSouth, said MSMC Investors and its affiliates will be investing approximately $30 million in working capital, new hospital equipment such as a 64-slice CT scanner, a PACs digital imaging system, a new mammography unit and upgrades to patient rooms, that will result in the first hospital on the South Chicagoland area to have all single-patient rooms.
The transfer of the hospital to MSMC Investors received support at every level of government, in particular from State Senator Emil Jones, Jr., and from Blue Island Mayor Don Peloquin and the Blue Island City Council, which enacted resolutions of support and financial incentives for the redevelopment and continued operation of the hospital.
Also providing support were the Office of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, State Representative Robert Rita, State Representative Kevin Joyce, State Representative Monique Davis, State Representative Will Davis and Congressman Bobby Rush.