Community Health offloads 4 hospitals, buys stakes in 5

Community Health Systems' roster of hospitals is in flux as the company completes deals for four and purchases additional stakes in five facilities in Oklahoma.

Medical Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust in Alabama, will own the 59-bed Chesterfield General Hospital in Cheraw, S.C., and the 102-bed Marlboro Park Hospital in Bennettsville, S.C., via a subsidiary called M/C Healthcare LLC. Community Health Systems leased the facilities from Medical Properties via a lease agreement that was set to expire on April 30. The sale is expected to be finalized within the next 60 days.

Medical Properties is looking for a new tenant to lease the facilities, according to its 10-K released this week. The financial filing cautioned investors that finding a company to sign a new lease could be time-consuming.

"The process of finding and negotiating with a new tenant along with costs (such as maintenance, property taxes, utilities, etc.) that we will incur while the facility is untenanted may be costly and require a disproportionate amount of management's attention," according to Medical Properties' filing.

CHS, based in Franklin, also finalized the sale of two hospitals in Alabama and Texas to Prime Healthcare Services on March 1.

Prime bought Dallas Regional Medical Center, a 202-bed acute care hospital in Dallas County, Texas, as well as Riverview Regional Medical Center, a 281-bed acute care hospital, in Gadsden, Ala. CHS was required by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to sell the hospitals as part of its 2014 acquisition of Health Management Associates.

Prime Healthcare is a nonprofit hospital operator based in Ontario, Calif. The Riverview hospital is the company's first property in the Southeast. It owns hospitals in California, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.

Community Health is on the buyer's side of the table in a deal with INTEGRIS Health. CHS finalized on March 1 the acquisition of stakes in five hospitals in Oklahoma from INTEGRIS, which had a joint venture with Health Management. Community Health now holds 100 percent of:

•53-bed Blackwell Regional Hospital in Blackwell.

•56-bed Clinton Regional Hospital in Clinton.

•25-bed Marshall County Medical Center in Madill.

•52-bed Mayes County Medical Center in Pryor

•32-bed Seminole Medical Center in Seminole.

Deal details were not disclosed for any of the transactions.

Reach Holly Fletcher at 615-259-8287 or on Twitter @hollyfletcher.

Community Health Systems' recent sales

•Dallas Regional Medical Center, a 202-bed hospital in Dallas County, Texas.

•Riverview Regional Medical Center, a 281-bed hospital in Gadsden, Ala.

•Chesterfield General Hospital, a 59-bed hospital in Cheraw, S.C.

•Marlboro Park Hospital, a 102-bed hospital in Bennettsville, S.C.

• Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center, a 116-bed hospital in Hartsville, S.C. (announced fall 2014)

•Special Care Hospital, a 67-bed facility in Nanticoke, Pa. (announced fall 2014)

Source: Community Health Systems