Nurses Warn Closure of Roger Williams and Fatima Would Be “Catastrophic”

Nurses Warn Closure of Roger Williams and Fatima Would Be “Catastrophic”

The United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) is calling on state leaders to immediately take action to ensure the continued viability of the CharterCARE hospitals in Rhode Island owned by Prospect Medical Holdings.

As GoLocal reported earlier Sunday, Prospect declared bankruptcy on Saturday night.

UNAP represents almost 1,000 employees at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Prospect Home Health and Hospice.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Lynn Blais, R.N., President of UNAP and a registered nurse at Fatima Hospital, stated, “It will be an all out catastrophe for Rhode Island’s health care system if Prospect shutters these important community hospitals and health care facilities. Our system doesn’t have the capacity to treat the patients who would be displaced in the event of closure, and Rhode Island’s other hospitals would be completely overwhelmed with a flood of new patients.”

“Hundreds of nurses and other health professionals would lose their jobs. That’s why we are calling on state leaders – the Governor, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House – to immediately come up with a plan to keep Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Prospect Home Health and Hospice open and operational regardless of what happens with this bankruptcy. And we’re calling on Prospect to do right by Rhode Island and keep these facilities open until the sale to Centurion Foundation is final. Our union will do all we can to secure the future of these healthcare facilities, ensure we protect these jobs, and continue providing critical care for the families who depend on them,” Blais added. 

 

Centurion Trying to Buy Hospitals Since 2022

The Centurion Foundation (Centurion) and Prospect announced in November of 2022 they signed an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) for Centurion to acquire the CharterCARE Health Partners (CCHP) system from Prospect. Centurion also announced that QHR Health will assist in the transition process and will provide ongoing consulting support to CharterCARE senior management and board of directors.

That agreement also includes CharterCARE’s related businesses, real estate assets, physician clinic operations and outpatient services, and was subject to customary regulatory approvals, including reviews by the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Rhode Island Attorney General.

Those approvals were completed in the fall of 2024.

UNAP opposes the sale.

“We took a good hard look at the application when it was made public, and it didn’t take long to find a business model that is simply not credible or viable,” stated UNAP General Counsel Chris Callaci in a statement issued in March of 2024. “There are a number of significant issues in Centurion’s application, with the most glaring being the fact that they are an unknown entity that has never owned or operated a hospital or healthcare facility. They are not bringing any capital to the table and plan to saddle our community hospitals with more than $133 million in debt – money they aren’t on the hook to pay back. The closer we look, the worse this application gets.”