TOLEDO, Ohio — ProMedica is selling its Coldwater Regional Hospital in Michigan a few years after first shopping the facility.
The hospital announced on Wednesday it entered a purchase agreement with California-based American Healthcare Systems. ProMedica cited "financial challenges" as the primary reason for the sale.
“The pandemic and its fallout, including staffing shortages and rapidly rising expenses, have further strained finances at hospitals across the country — and Coldwater Regional Hospital has been no exception,” said Alan Sattler, president of ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital. “With the financial strain ProMedica has been experiencing, especially since the pandemic, it has become necessary for us to revisit our options for Coldwater Regional Hospital.”
Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The sale requires approval - which is expected to take up to six months - from the state of Michigan since American Healthcare Systems is a for-profit organization.
ProMedica will continue to fully support the hospital in the interim.
Coldwater, Mich., is about 100 miles northwest of Toledo. ProMedica placed the hospital on the market before the COVID-19 pandemic and removed it in 2020.
ProMedica spokeswoman Tausha Moore said there are no plans to sell any other hospitals.
"While we are focused on selling that specific hospital, it is important to note that we are confident all of our other acute care and ancillary locations are strategic to our mission," she said in a statement. "Therefore, we have no plans that would impact our other hospital and ambulatory operations."
ProMedica has encountered major financial problems for well over a year. On Friday, the company announced a new chief financial officer who will oversee many of the changes being made.
Terry Metzger will take over as CFO on Sunday. He will report directly to President and CEO Arturo Polizzi.
Metzger takes over for Steve Cavanaugh, who was let go last May in a corporate shakeup. Louis Robichaux IV was serving in an interim capacity for the last year.
Metzger has served 12 years in the healthcare and insurance industry and has experience with strategic and financial planning. He was most recently the chief operating officer at Ascension St. Vincent in Indianapolis.
He was also a CFO and chief administrative officer at three different health insurance organizations in Wisconsin and Indiana.
Metzger earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Regis University in Denver.
“We are pleased to welcome Terry to our team as chief financial officer," Polizzi said. “Given his extensive experience in health care, insurance and technology, we are highly confident he will play a key role in driving our financial strategy forward and positioning our organization for greater stability and success.”
Earlier this week, Fitch Ratings downgraded ProMedica's credit rating for the second time in a year. This came just weeks after the company reported losses of about $350 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, adding to what was already a disastrous financial year.
ProMedica is in the midst of significant restructuring and refocusing as it continues to navigate major financial problems. The effects of those issues have been felt this year in the region.
In recent weeks, the company asked Lucas County for a friendlier agreement for naming rights to the Glass City Center, suspended a $10 million donation to the Metroparks and $60,000 for Jeep Fest and also terminated a 10-year sponsorship agreement with the USGA for the U.S. Women's Open barely a year into the deal.
In March, ProMedica asked the city of Toledo and the county for more money to stage fewer shows for this year's summer concert series.
Nearly 300 people were laid off after the company divested from skilled nursing facilities earlier this year. 262 were announced in the first wave before 26 more in the second.
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