St. Francis hospital in Topeka was on the brink of closing. Now, the University of Kansas Health System has partnered with Tennessee-based for-profit Ardent Health Services to take over the struggling facility. The deal announced on Thursday will keep St. Francis open and preserve most of its 1,600 jobs. The partnership also will provide the hospital with $50 million in capital during the first year. The 378-bed hospital is currently owned by Denver-based SCL Health, a nonprofit formerly known as the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. SCL Health has been looking for a buyer for St. Francis since May 2016. It said last month it would stop operating the hospital this summer.
As the University of Kansas teams up with Ardent to rescue St. Francis, some are wondering about the fate of other Kansas hospitals. As Jim McLean of the Kansas News Service reports, health care providers worry more Kansas hospitals could also need rescuing if the Obamacare replacement bill passed by the U.S. House yesterday (THUR) becomes law.
