August 08, 2022
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Tower Health has agreed to sell Chestnut Hill Hospital, above, to a consortium formed by Temple Health, Redeemer Health and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Three Philadelphia health institutions have teamed up to acquire Chestnut Hill Hospital from Tower Health, the latest sale announced by the Reading-based hospital system.
A consortium formed by Temple Health, Redeemer Health and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine will take over the 148-bed teaching hospital in Northwest Philadelphia, which was founded in 1903.
Once approved by regulators and Tower Health bond holders, the hospital will be known as Temple Health-Chestnut Hill Hospital. The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
"Together, our organizations bring the expertise, resources, operational excellence and skilled clinical care to ensure that Chestnut Hill Hospital remains a durable and sustainable resource for the eastern Montgomery County and northwest Philadelphia communities," said Michael A. Young, CEO of Temple Health, which will manage the hospital.
The three institutions purchasing the hospital joined together to pursue collaborative affiliations that are designed to benefit patients and the communities the hospitals serve. The alliance also will provide training placements for medical students.
"This endeavor will help strengthen PCOM's clinical and graduate medical education capabilities and enhance our ability to train the next generation of health professionals," PCOM CEO Jay S. Feldstein said. "Most importantly, Chestnut Hill Hospital will continue to serve as a critical resource for the surrounding communities."
The pending deal comes a month after Tower Health completed the sale of Jennersville Hospital in Chester County to ChristianaCare for $8 million. The hospital system is carrying about $1 billion in long-term debt and is looking to sell some of its assets, including Chester County's Brandywine Hospital, which closed in January.
Previously, Tower Health had agreed to sell Chestnut Hill Hospital to Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, but the deal was not completed. Another plan to sell both Jennersville and Brandywine hospitals to Canyon Atlantic also fell through earlier this year.
Tower Health has lost more than $658 million over the last two fiscal years, and it wrote off $370 million in value of its hospitals in 2021. The health system undertook a series of layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic to save money as part of a larger reorganization that includes the planned sale of some of its assets.
Tower Health's other facilities include Reading Hospital, Phoenixville Hospital, Pottstown Hospital and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, which it runs in partnership with Drexel University in Philadelphia.
"Tower Health is pleased and grateful that Chestnut Hill Hospital will continue to serve the community as part of an alliance of highly-respected and locally-based nonprofit health care institutions," Tower Health CEO P. Sue Perrotty said.
