The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed back UMass Memorial Health Care's acquisition of Harrington HealthCare, a Southbridge, Mass.-based system comprising a 119-bed hospital, satellite location and three medical office buildings, according to MassLive.
The two organizations announced the deal in January, and final approval on the acquisition was expected to take about six to nine months after the due diligence period.
However, because of the pandemic, the organizations are still in the due diligence period, according to the report.
Harrington HealthCare CEO Ed Moore said that the due diligence period is now expected to last until September, which is about three or four months longer than initially planned. From there, the organizations would need to sign a final agreement and receive regulatory approval.
"It's taking longer because of everybody's preoccupation with COVID. From timing and a scheduling standpoint, there's been what I would call an understandable delay in getting through that portion of the process," Mr. Moore told the publication.
Despite the delay, both organizations said they're optimistic that the acquisition will be finalized.
"We are continuing forward with the assumption that we’ll find a way to make that work," Eric Dickson, UMass Memorial Health Care CEO, told MassLive.
UMass Memorial is a three-hospital system in Worcester, Mass.