Manchester-based Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which owns Rockyville General in Vernon, Conn., and Manchester (Conn.) Memorial, has moved on to another plan after Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare backed out of a deal to acquire the system, according to a Hartford Courant report.
The same week Tenet told ECHN the deal was off, the system sent requests for proposals for a merger or partnership to four large nonprofit systems in Connecticut, according to the report.
ECHN's sense of urgency about finding a system to partner with is understandable, as it is necessary for it to stay in business. "I would say in two to three years there would be a threat to ECHN's long-term survival if we don't partner with someone," Peter J. Karl, the system's CEO, told the Hartford Courant. "Consolidation is inevitable, so it's a matter of getting to the dance on time."
ECHN isn't the only one scrambling to find a partner after the Tenet deal fell through. Like ECHN, Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital, which is another facility Tenet was supposed to acquire, has been looking for a system to partner with for years and will now have to start the search process again, according to the report.
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