Pennsylvania Hospitals Become Nonprofit Joining Prime Healthcare Foundation

May 20, 2024 at 11:02 AM EDT

All three Prime Healthcare hospitals in Pennsylvania will be nonprofit

Prime Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading health systems, has initiated plans for its two Pennsylvania hospitals to become nonprofit hospitals with ownership assumed by the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity. This conversion, planned to take place in the summer of 2024, would make all Prime Healthcare hospitals in Pennsylvania nonprofit and create shared unity to address community needs under the Prime Healthcare Foundation. The Prime Healthcare Foundation has 14 hospitals across the country dedicated to providing quality, compassionate healthcare and serving communities through charitable and educational initiatives.

Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, PA and Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol, PA will convert to not-for-profit status as members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation. The transaction will result in Prime Healthcare Foundation owning and operating all three Pennsylvania hospitals of Prime Healthcare, including Suburban Community Hospital in East Norriton, PA. This will improve care coordination between the three facilities and aligns with statewide policy initiatives regarding not-for-profit ownership.

Established in 2006, the Prime Healthcare Foundation includes 14 hospitals in California, Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The Prime Healthcare Foundation has more than $1.3 billion in assets and has provided more than $3 billion in charity care, sponsoring local and global initiatives to improve the lives of others. The Foundation is award winning for quality, health equity, social responsibility, and price transparency, with its hospitals named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” and recognized for patient safety excellence by The Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades.

“As not-for-profit healthcare providers, we look forward to engaging the community to develop community health needs assessments that will further improve the health and well-being of all those we serve,” said Sonia Mehta, MD, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Prime Healthcare Region II. “Prime’s hospitals are valued community assets, and we are focused on ensuring that much needed care is provided in the way the community needs and deserves, with high quality and affordable healthcare.”

Prime Healthcare has invested time and time again into hospitals and creating valued community assets that are award winning for their quality of care and patient safety. Significant improvements totaling nearly $100 million have been made into Prime’s Pennsylvania hospitals since they were acquired by Prime, including new emergency rooms, intensive care units, upgraded IT infrastructure with EPIC system installation at all three facilities, lab and radiology equipment, inpatient rehab and more.

One example of efforts to further meet community needs is the planned tailoring of services at Suburban Community Hospital to focus on emergency care with a full-service 24/7 Emergency Department staffed with board certified physicians and nurses, a minimum of 10 inpatient beds with services including imaging, lab, inpatient pharmacy, and diagnostic capabilities, including state-of-the-art CT imaging. For patients requiring a higher level of care, transfer agreements to neighboring hospitals will be in place to meet patient needs. Due to low demand for Behavioral Health Services and challenges in retaining qualified behavioral health providers, these services will be suspended. The service adjustments are expected to take effect mid-July.

For over 75 years, Suburban Community Hospital has been delivering quality healthcare to Montgomery County and the surrounding region. Suburban Community Hospital, acquired by the Prime Healthcare Foundation in 2016, achieved “Honor Roll” status from the Lown Institute in 2023, including receiving A grades for health equity, value of care, clinical outcomes, patient safety, and cost efficiency. In addition, Suburban Community Hospital has ranked among the top 10% in the nation for patient safety, according to Healthgrades.

Roxborough Memorial Hospital, acquired in 2012, is a 131-bed community hospital with 249 physicians and over 625 employees and volunteers. The hospital, along with its School of Nursing, has been serving the medical and health care needs of the Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls and northwest section of Philadelphia communities for more than a century. Roxborough Memorial Hospital has received numerous quality accolades and awards including receiving the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for nine years in a row (2015-2023), named among the top 10% in the nation among all hospitals for patient safety nine years in a row (2015-2023) and was awarded an “A” grade for social responsibility by the Lown Institute.

Lower Bucks Hospital, acquired by Prime Healthcare in late 2012, is located in historic Bristol, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1954, with more than 225 physicians and over 650 employees and volunteers, the hospital has received numerous quality accolades and awards including the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for seven years in a row (2018-2024) and has been named among the top 10% of all hospitals in the nation for patient safety for seven years in a row (2018-2024).

This year, Prime Healthcare hospitals received more than 200 clinical quality awards from Healthgrades. Additionally, Prime Healthcare has more Patient Safety Excellence Award recipients from Healthgrades than any other health system for eight consecutive years. Its hospitals have also been recognized among the “100 Top Hospitals” in the nation 69 times by Fortune/PINC AI (formerly IBM Watson Health). Prime Healthcare’s mission is to provide compassionate, quality care for all and ensure access for which it has been recognized as a Top 10 Health System in the nation for social responsibility, health equity, patient outcomes, clinical outcomes, and inclusivity from the Lown Institute.

About Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation: Prime Healthcare and Prime Healthcare Foundation comprise an award-winning health system operating 44 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient locations in 14 states, providing over 2.6 million patient visits annually. Fourteen of the Prime Healthcare hospitals are members of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity. Prime is one of the nation's leading health systems with nearly 45,000 employees and physicians dedicated to providing the highest quality healthcare. Based in Ontario, California, Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health. To learn more, please visit www.primehealthcare.com.

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