BY MIKE FUHRMAN
Novant Health’s efforts to purchase Davis Regional Medical Center and Lake Norman Regional Center appear to be over.
“The transaction will not be completed,” a spokesperson for Novant, which agreed to acquire the Iredell County hospitals from Community Health Systems Inc. for $320 million, said late Tuesday afternoon.
The announcement came less than three weeks after U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Bell thwarted an effort by the Federal Trade Commission to block the sale.
But the FTC filed an appeal of Judge Bell’s ruling last week, extending the legal battle on the grounds that Novant would gain an unfair competition advantage over other medical providers in the Lake Norman area.
Novant has argued that its acquisition would save the hospitals. According to court records, Community Health Systems has greatly reduced staffing and services at Davis Regional and is losing $1 million per month by operating Davis Regional as a behavioral hospital.
“Novant Health has worked tirelessly for more than a year to create a path forward for Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and Davis Regional Medical Center,” the Novant spokesman said.
“Despite our vision to restore services the area has lost and deliver high quality, remarkable care, we have been met with opposition from the Federal Trade Commission at every step. We are steadfast in our belief that these facilities and their patients would have greatly benefited from joining Novant Health, but with the FTC’s continued roadblocks we do not see a way to finalize this transaction. The communities served by these facilities deserve better than the fate they’ve been dealt by the FTC so we will look for other ways to support patients and clinicians in these communities.”
Shortly after the announcement of the proposed sale, Davis Regional transitioned to a behavioral health facility, forcing Iredell Health System to absorb a significant increase in patient volume with little advance notice. The nonprofit provider responded by opening a new Urgent Care in Statesville and embarking on an expansion of the Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit at Iredell Memorial Hospital.
With the news that the sale of the hospitals would not go through came out Tuesday, Iredell Health System President & CEO John Green said the nonprofit would continue striving to meet the community’s increased demand for healthcare services.
“This was a complex legal decision that Iredell Health System was not party to and we understand it is likely disappointing to those individuals who wanted to see this purchase be approved,” Green said. “We have served our communities for more than 70 years and will continue to work hard to ensure we do all we can to provide for the healthcare needs of Iredell County.”
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That’s good news. Novant and Atrium have been monopolizing the healthcare system in North Carolina, and this reduces the number of the available options for both patients and healthcare professionals. Although they are non-profit organizations, both Atrium and Novant’s management are profit-driven.
Careful what you wish for, now HCA might swoop in with their for-profit juggernaut and really make things worse.
Another option is the Advent Health systems chain of hospitals. They are currently in western NC. Maybe they would like to purchase Lake Norman. Of course, changing the name will not do any good unless the people that have caused the low level of care are removed.
I work for Novant in Winston, but live in Statesville. It would do good for Novant to come to the old Davis Hospital. Iredell and Piedmont Healthcare need some competition. They do not pay what Novant does and those employees deserve to be paid more. Yes Novant is a big business but they do a lot of good. Statesville is very small town.
Iredell is an basically an Atrium Hospital.
As a nurse that has worked in Mooresville and for Novant, I will drive past Mooresville and go to Huntersville for me and my family!!
I agree!!! I drove past Lake Norman and went to Huntersville for emergency surgery!!! No way I’m taking a chance at Lake Norman. I was sooooo hopeful we were going to get quality care up here.
Good news to whom? Certainly not the staff at either facility nor the patients. You have no idea what you’re talking about! The FTC just screwed the employees and the residents of Mooresville. Thank you, FTC! There’s so much more I’d like to say, but it’s not appropriate. But thanks for screwing us. And, yes, I work at the hospital. Atrium is a monopoly! But does the FTC block them from building a hospital just miles away from Lake Norman Regional? No, they do not. They’re probably the ones pushing for the FTC to block it.
The story is always deeper than what’s on the surface. FTC = FEDERAL Trade Commission. What chain of command is in play here? Does the current administration have plans for these facilities? Very doubtful either Davis or Lake Norman will survive for long in this Economic Environment.
When Community Health Services acquired these two facilities, they pointedly said that they were eliminating redundant services and streamlining services by changing Davis Hospital to a behavioral facility. They further said those in northern Iredell WOULD travel to Lake Norman. What you created was two monopolies. One in Lake Norman for those in South Iredell and one in Statesville for those in Northern Iredell. Davis Hospital is NOT surviving. Lake Norman is NOT getting the patients they expected and can’t provide the services they expected. When these two close then you will have one Iredell County hospital and those around Lake Norman will have to travel for services.
People might not like the size of Novant or Atrium. But Piedmont Health Care and Iredell Health System(which manages Iredell Memorial Hospital) are large and getting larger. Healthcare management companies are the way doctors survive. Medicare (a federal entity) along with Insurance companies for the most part set the rates that are charged and collected. These rates adjusted based on area and competition.
This is the craziest thing I’ve heard. Someone in the FTC probably wasn’t getting their hand greased enough. This is a loser for Iredell County on the health care side and employment side. Who has a monopoly in Iredell County for health care? It’s sure not IMH.
Definitely more to this. FTC says no, Iredell Health says it isn’t interested in the 2 Hospitals yet always has a lot to say on this matter. As it is always, follow the $$
Instead of 2 hospitals being saved from CHS’ greedy clutches, we will now go from a 3 hospital county to just 1 lone IMH struggling to bear the already over burdened system. Thanks CHS and FTC! Im sure it’s all about the local community’s health and not money. A negative $1 million monthly business plan was CHS’ genius plan that lead us here.
FTC lawyers would never go to IMH for medical care.
The FTC needs to be eliminated period. They obviously do not have anyone’s best interest at heart in any way, shape or form with that decision to appeal. Novant is definitely better than IMH, I would rather drive an hour in pain than go to Iredell Memorial … and now it’s going to be the only option in the county! Pathetic!
I am not sure that any critical thinking has been applied to this situation. Everyone proclaims concerns for monopolies, big money cost etc. I do not think anyone has thought about the fact that houses and new subdivisions are being approved and popping up all over the city and county. Iredell Health System is already over burdened. The increased population has caused concern in regards to schools and infrastructure, but apparently we cannot be concerned with an increase in health care. If you need care you don’t want to drive a great distance just to receive medical treatment. Also, driving any distance is quite a costly addition to the already outrageous health care cost.
I agree with what others have said, follow the money. These facilities already exist and could be utilized right away for the care of Iredell citizens. Once again, no one seems to care about the average citizen.
What has the FTC done, if not create a monopoly in Iredell Healthcare System now?
What you didn’t know.
Behind the scenes, if the Novant deal were to go through, it opens the door for Atrium to acquire Iredell. Novant is an effective organization with both the training and payroll to make these substandard hospitals shine. But if the FTC grants this move, they have no precedent to deny an Atrium move.
Both transactions would elevate the level of healthcare in Iredell County. But we are not the only market where this competition plays out. In the giant game of health-system chess, victory often goes to the market where investment is made. By pulling this $320 million investment from Iredell County, Atrium is somewhat blindsided in their response to an expected e4 opening move, left instead to wonder where the money will pop up in this health-system chess game.
The FTC likes to fight battles to justify their existence, but here has become a pawn on this chessboard; causing a nice diversion that Novant will take full advantage of.
Iredell County will suffer as a result. Davis will continue to degrade, and will eventually sell; likely for much less.
Quality healthcare comes from quality doctors and health care staff, not from large hospital corporations.
Primarily there is a desperate need for mental health care, both inpatient and outpatient, in North Carolina. Lake Norman area needs a high-quality local hospital. I hope this decision gets more consideration.
I am sure the FTC did not take our community growth into consideration, nor did they consider the staff of both Davis and Lake Norman. FTC should have talked to staff and doctors. This area is growing and Novant could had made great changes at not only Davis but Lake Norman. Novant could have been a great change for Iredell County and Lake Norman. It could had opened doors and more jobs. It is very sad that FTC did this to our community.
Seems no one even considers what we eastern Alexander County residents have to do for emergency health care after our only hospital was shuttered decades ago? I suffered a heart attack 2.5 years ago and wherever the ambulance came from (wasn’t Alexander EMS) carried me the long way to Iredell Memorial Hospital. If not for a white haired gentleman I can’t seem to track down that found my house when the ambulance was just wandering around the community looking and left his pickup truck in my yard and climbed in the ambulance with two rookie EMTs and hit me up with nitro glycerin as I watched the world fading to black TWICE, I would’ve died.