Since the two cash-strapped, New York systems signed a memorandum of understanding to merge in February, The Brooklyn Hospital Center and Interfaith Medical Center, also in Brooklyn, have made little progress toward closing the deal, indicating it may never happen, according to a report by Crain's New York.
TBHC needs $1.6 million from the state of New York to perform the due diligence necessary to sign off on the merger. Interfaith filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and could run out of money and close in July if it doesn't receive more funding from the state or from TBHC, according to the report. But a meeting last week between hospital officials and state regulators to request the money was fruitless, according to the report.
Interfaith has struggled on many financial and safety fronts recently. It owes almost $200 million more than its total assets of $142.4 million, and it has taken a 40 percent blow to its Medicaid revenue since 2009 due to a state reimbursement policy change. Patient volumes have plummeted 9 percent since April, due in large part to closing its psychiatric ward after one patient murdered another in March, according to the report.
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To Merge or Not to Merge: Benefits, Challenges and the Future for Stand-Alone Hospitals