Quorum Health Corp., the 38-hospital spin-off of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, has signed a definitive agreement to sell 64-bed Sandhills Regional Medical Center in Hamlet, N.C., to FirstHealth of the Carolinas in Pinehurst, N.C.
The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected to close Dec. 1.
The divestiture comes after Quorum ended the second quarter with an operating loss of $259.3 million — a significant change from the operating income of $27.5 million the company recorded in the second quarter of last year.
Last week, Fort Worth, Texas-based Q Investments LP blamed Community Health Systems for Quorum's downturn in a letter to Quorum's board. "We believe Community Health was desperate to raise cash, and they saw an easy path to do so by stuffing new investors in Quorum with inflated guidance and concealing costs within what they knew was a disintegrating business," the letter stated. Q Investments, which is one of Quorum's top-10 investors with 1.3 million shares, asked Quorum to "take appropriate legal action" against CHS.
Due to its financial downturn, Quorum announced plans in August to divest underperforming assets to drive down debt. Earlier this month, Quorum signed a definitive agreement to sell Barrow Regional Medical Center in Winder, Ga., to Northeast Georgia Health System in Gainesville.
On Wednesday, Quorum Health President and CEO Thomas D. Miller said the company is "working toward additional divestitures" to reduce debt and improve organizational performance.
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