By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
Quorum Health Corp., the operator of Mesa View Regional Hospital (MVRH) in Mesquite, is preparing for a potential bankruptcy filing, according to a report published by Bloomberg this week.
The Tennessee-based company operates 24 hospitals, totalling about 2,000 beds, across 14 states mainly in rural and mid-sized markets.
In a March 31 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Quorum explained why Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is being considered at this time.
“The company, together with its financial and legal advisors, has been engaged in discussions with certain debt holders regarding a recapitalization or financial reorganization transaction, which may include the voluntary filing of chapter 11 cases under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, to address the company’s current liquidity needs,” the SEC filing states.
Quorum Health President and CEO Robert Fish, in a March 31 press release, said that despite the bankruptcy proceedings, the company would continue to operate its hospital facilities across the country.
“Regardless of the path forward the company chooses, Quorum Health and its hospitals will continue to maintain all operations without any interruption to service,” Fish said in the statement. “Our facilities play a critically important role in their communities and the fight against COVID-19. We are intensely focused on ensuring our employees have the resources they need to provide quality care to the patients and communities they serve, now and well into the future.”
MVRH officials in Mesquite were unable to comment on the action, deferring all question to the company’s Brentwood, Tennessee corporate headquarters.
MVRH was opened in Mesquite in 2004 as part of Community Health Systems Inc. In 2016, Quorum was created through a spinoff of 38 hospitals from the Community Health Systems group.
The relationship between MVRH and the City of Mesquite has been strained in recent years. In the fall of 2018, the hospital announced the closure of labor and delivery unit. The company stated that a plunging rate of births made the facility no longer viable both financially and from a quality of care standpoint.
The City claimed that the closure violated a 2002 development agreement with the hospital and filed a lawsuit.
According to sources at the hospital at that time, the company had been in sale negotiations with another regional hospital operator. The lawsuit had reportedly soured the negotiations and the sale did not proceed.
The Mesquite City Council approved a legal settlement with the hospital which resolved the lawsuit in May 2019.
According to Bloomberg, Quorum hasn’t posted an annual profit since the spinoff. Quorum’s stock plunged 33 percent to 27 cents per share on Friday morning.
