Quorum Health Corp., the 36-hospital spinoff of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, has closed its second divestiture transaction in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Quorum closed a deal to sell Barrow Regional Medical Center in Winder, Ga., to Northeast Georgia Health System in Gainesville. Ownership of the hospital will transfer to NGHS at 11:59 p.m. Friday.
The divestiture is part of Quorum's quest to sell off its underperforming assets. Earlier this month, the company finalized the sale of Sandhills Regional Medical Center in Hamlet, N.C., to First Health of the Carolinas in Pinehurst, N.C.
Quorum expects to receive a combined $25 million for Sandhills Regional and Barrow Regional. Those funds will be used to pay down the company's debt.
During a third-quarter earnings call in November, Quorum President and CEO Thomas D. Miller said divestiture is a "top priority." He said that in addition to the Barrow and Sandhills transactions, the company plans to sell six more unspecified hospitals to drive down its debt. On Thursday, Mr. Miller confirmed the company is in "active discussions on further divestiture opportunities."
Quorum recorded a net loss of $7 million in the third quarter of 2016, compared to a net loss of $5.7 million in the same period of the year prior.
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