Gilbert Hospital and Florence Hospital at Anthem Closed

Gilbert Hospital and Florence Hospital at Anthem, two medical centers owned by parent company New Vision Health LLC, will close according to the Arizona Republic (1). Gilbert Hospital's emergency room will stay open until 1 p.m. Saturday and the Florence ER will close 8 a.m. Monday. Anyone receiving care was to be transferred or discharged, according to company spokesman Alex Stevenson.

The two hospitals and the parent company have been plagued with financial troubles. Creditors filed for involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this spring, the second time they had faced bankruptcy in four years. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on June 7 appointed a receiver, who concluded that the financial problems "were simply too significant to overcome." Bankruptcy court documents show the two medical centers owe creditors at least $13.1 million in unpaid loans. Both hospitals were operating under terminated leases because they could not pay rent, according to court records.

Gilbert Hospital was recently penalized by Medicare because of high rates of patient injuries, according to Kaiser Health News (2). Gilbert Hospital lost 1 percent of its Medicare funding this fiscal year. New Vision Health is also the owner of Peoria Regional Medical Center which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in October 2017.

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Editor, SWJPCC

References

1. Altavena L. Bankruptcy forces abrupt closure of Gilbert Hospital, Florence Hospital at Anthem. Arizona Republic. June 15, 2018. Available at: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/gilbert/2018/06/15/bankruptcy-gilbert-hospital-florence-hospital-anthem-close/705452002/ (accessed 5/16/18)
2. Rau J. Medicare penalizes group of 751 hospitals for patient injuries. Kaiser Health News. December 12, 2017. Available at: https://khn.org/news/medicare-penalizes-group-of-751-hospitals-for-patient-injuries/ (accessed 6/16/18)

Cite as: Robbins RA. Gilbert Hospital and Florence Hospital at Anthem closed. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2018;16(6):340. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc080-18 PDF 

Editor's Note: Gilbert Hospital was located at 5656 S. Power in Gilbert and should not be confused with Mercy Gilbert Medical Center which is located 3555 S. Val Vista Drive also in Gilbert.