Connecticut approved the joint venture agreement between for-profit Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare and the nonprofit Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital, given a list of 21 conditions released Monday, according to The Hartford Courant.
The proposed final decision for the joint venture was issued by the Connecticut attorney general's office and the state Department of Public Health's Office of Health Care Access. The joint venture agreement would establish a partnership between the hospital's parent company, Greater Waterbury Health Network, and Vanguard Health Systems, a division of Tenet.
The attorney general's office provided the 21 conditions, which include capital commitment provisions, conditions on financing the hospital's assets and the establishment of a Waterbury Hospital Foundation to offset the loss of a nonprofit in the community, according to the report.
The Tenet acquisition is controversial with local healthcare labor groups, according to the report. Connecticut passed a bill earlier this year permitting for-profit hospitals to employ physicians, making the Tenet-Waterbury joint venture possible. The Texas hospital company made plans to buy four more nonprofit hospitals in the state, including Saint Mary's, Waterbury's other hospital.
The public has one week to voice their opinions and the two state agencies will release their final decision on December 17, according to the report. Waterbury Hospital expects the deal to close in the first quarter next year, after the Federal Trade Commission approves Tenet's acquisition of the Greater Waterbury Health Network.
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