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One Memorial bidder drops out
Dec. 1 — Task force members will submit score sheets. Bids will be made public.
Dec. 2 — Task force meeting open to public. Bidders invited to give a brief summary of bids.
Dec. 7 — Moderated town hall meeting in City Council chambers.
Dec. 9 — Task force open meeting to begin discussions on what to recommend to City Council.
Dec. 27 or sooner — Task force will reach a consensus on what recommendation make to City Council.
Tennessee-based for-profit hospital chain Community Health Systems has dropped out of the bidding to lease city-owned Memorial Health System, the city announced Monday.
That leaves five remaining bidders, including an internal bid to turn Memorial into an independent nonprofit. It does, however, mean that only one for-profit company is in the running for Memorial: HCA-HealthOne, which has offered $500 million up front to lease the hospital, along with a promise to invest $1 billion over the 40-year life of the lease.
Along with HCA-HealthOne and the internal Memorial bid, Penrose-St. Francis Health Services parent Centura Health, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System and University of Colorado Hospital have submitted proposals to lease Memorial. The task force running the leasing process is currently scoring the bids, which will be made public Dec. 1. The task force will recommend a winning bid to City Council by the end of the year and voters will approve or reject the proposal in 2012.
Community Health Systems is the second bidder to drop out. Arizona-based nonprofit Banner Health had expressed interest in leasing Memorial for several years, but withdrew just before proposals were due Nov. 14.
Community Health Systems owns, leases or operates 131 hospitals across the country and manages or advises more than 100 others through Quorum Health Resources subsidiary, including hospitals in Pueblo and La Junta.
