May 26, 2022 – Outgoing CEO of Care New England Dr. James Fanale said Tuesday he expects a decision as soon as next month about the system’s future, as it again searches for a merger partner.
Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital group has been struggling financially for years, leading to multiple attempts to join forces with another health care system — most recently Lifespan, the state’s biggest hospital group.
Regulators rejected that deal in February.
Dr. Fanale expects to present the board of directors with options to consider by the end of June or July.
“We know we’ve got to get this done pretty quickly, but [the board is] not going to move too quickly that they make the wrong decision,” Fanale said.
Asked how soon an announcement could be made, Fanale said, “I’d love to say that, you know, in 35 days or so we’ll have some kind of idea — that’s what I really dream that we would. But as my CFO would say, we think it’s a 60-day timetable, maybe 90 — but not 180. So I think it’s imminent.”
The only potential takeover offer that has been made public so far is from Pennsylvania-based StoneBridge Healthcare. Care New England executives spurned a previous unsolicited offer from StoneBridge back in 2020.
Fanale said Care New England has received acquisition interest from between three and five organizations, including “a couple of formal proposals,” though he didn’t offer names.