Boston-based Partners HealthCare and Providence, R.I.-based Care New England have agreed to extend the deadline for reaching an agreement on their proposed merger from the end of December to Jan. 31, 2018.
The extension maintains "exclusive negotiating terms between the two organizations as they continue to pursue a definitive agreement," the health systems said in a joint statement.
Partners signed a letter of intent to purchase Care New England in April. According to the Providence Journal, concerns about CNE's financial health and ability to close Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, R.I., have delayed the deal.
Earlier this year, CNE announced plans to sell Memorial Hospital to Prime Healthcare Foundation, the Ontario, Calif.-based nonprofit arm of Prime Healthcare Services. However, after the deal fell through, CNE filed an application with the Rhode Island Department of Health to close the hospital.
CNE lost more than $6 million in the first two months of fiscal year 2018. System Executive Vice President, COO and Chief Clinical Officer James Fanale, MD, said the loss mostly reflects the system's pending closure of Memorial Hospital.
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