The board for Desert Healthcare District and Foundation voted May 28 to move forward with Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare's proposal for a 30-year lease for the 387-bed Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif., the Desert Sun reported.
Will Dean, director of communications and marketing for the district, told Becker's the board has tasked district staff, its legal counsel and a consultant to work with Tenet in refining and defining the details of a term sheet into a contractual agreement.
That agreement likely will come back to the board for approval in July, he said. Mr. Dean added that if the board approves the agreement on an adequate timeline, it can develop a ballot measure by the Aug. 9 deadline for the lease (with purchase) to go before voters in November.
With voter approval, Tenet and the district would enter into a new lease agreement, which would begin May 31, 2027, and end in May 2057, according to the Desert Sun. The current lease expires in 2027.
Tenet proposed a new lease to run Desert Regional Medical Center in September 2023. Revisions have since been made to the proposal, and the feedback from the public and board members were considered in the latest revisions, Mike Maloney, executive vice president of corporate development for Tenet, said, according to the Desert Sun.
The current proposal would give Tenet the option to purchase the hospital at the end of the lease. Under those conditions, Tenet would pay the district approximately $650 million over 30 years; agree to maintain Desert Regional in compliance with regulatory standards, including seismic standards in the state; and commit to pursue an expansion of the emergency department and admitting area at JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio, Calif., among other provisions, according to the Desert Sun.
Becker's reached out to Tenet and will update the article if comment is received.
Read more about the proposal in the newspaper's report here.