Sant Partners to buy bankrupt Pontiac hospital: 7 things to know

In an effort to pull Pontiac-based Doctors' Hospital of Michigan out of bankruptcy, a bankruptcy judge has approved a reorganization plan that would sell the last remaining independent hospital in Detroit area to a family-run private equity firm Sant Partners, reports Detroit Free Press.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Walter Shapiro chose the firm's reorganization plan Tuesday over that proposed by a competing organization, Save the Hospital Group.

Here are seven things to know about the reorganization plan.

  1. The long-struggling physician-owned hospital filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2015. The hospital listed debts between $10 million and $50 million in its bankruptcy petition.  
  1. Sant Partners is run by members of the Sharma family of Austin, Texas. Family matriarch Priyam Sharma currently owns Infrahealth Group of Companies, a healthcare software and administrative services firm.
  1. In purchasing the hospital, Sant will effectively write off $1.5 million debtor-in-possession financing to the organization in 2015.
  1. Under Sant's plan, unsecured creditors would recover about $1.6 million out of $13.2 million they claimed they are owed in court documents, reports Detroit Free Press.
  1. Three Sharma family members will sit on the hospital's four-member board. Jawad Shah, MD, a Detroit neurosurgeon, will serve as the fourth board member as well as CMO.
  1. Under the Sant's reorganization plan, current hospital CEO John Ponczocha will retain his position, though with a reduced annual salary, according to the article.
  1. The judge is expected to confirm Sant Partner's reorganization plan next week, Sant Partner's attorney Todd Sable told Detroit Free Press.

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