Centurion — Trying to Buy Bankrupt CharterCARE — Financials Faltered in Recent Filing

Centurion — Trying to Buy Bankrupt CharterCARE — Financials Faltered in Recent Filing

Centurion Foundation — the Atlanta-based company that for the past three years has been trying to buy the now bankrupt CharterCARE hospitals, Roger Williams and Fatima — has reported in its most recent 990 filing, released publicly on Thursday, that its financial position has diminished.

Centurion, which has little staff and few assets, now has an even greater burden to convince the bankruptcy judge in Texas that it is a viable entity moving forward.

The decline in Centurion’s financial position is likely to raise more questions about its capabilities to buy and run the struggling hospital group.

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GoLocal asked Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha if Centurion is a viable option.

Neronha told GoLocal, “Well, that’s the right question at this point - that’s why they need financing, which of course they are struggling to get. It’s important to remember that they were not only the buyer that Prospect chose, they were the only buyer when they were chosen. My understanding is that the owners of Prime and Prospect are antagonists and would not deal with one another at the time.”

Today, the clock is ticking for the two Rhode Island hospitals. Last February, Chief Judge Stacey Jernigan of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas approved the sale of the CharterCARE hospitals to Centurion. The bankruptcy court has pushed off a filing by Prospect to close the hospitals through December.

 

Centurion in Focus

However, Centurion has been unable to secure financing. The bond deal that was taken to Wall Street investors has repeatedly failed and now faces the additional burden of loss of Medicaid income due to the passage of Trump’s so-called big beautiful budget bill, and a rating from S&P of BB- and a negative outlook.

In the 990 IRS filing made public on Thursday, Centurion reported a negative net income of -931,913 for the fiscal year ending June 2024.

And its net assets turned red to -$461,320.

This was a decline from the previous reported year.

In the 2023 filing, Centurion reported negative net income of -$255,886 and net assets of -2,541.

Ben Mingle, the Director & President of Centurion, said in a statement to GoLocal, "Centurion is financially stable. Our organization has grown year over year.  Our most recent 990 shows an increase in total assets of $370 million and an increase in total revenue of $6.8 million. Expenses in excess of revenues increased by $660,000 from the prior year for a total expenses in excess of revenues of $990,000.  This is primarily due to an increase in non-cash charges related to depreciation expense of $1.58 million."

The revenue for Centurion grew from about $8 million to $14 million from year to year.

And, while financials took a dip, Mingle saw his compensation jump from $408,000 to $431,625..

Centurion has never owned or operated a hospital

The other entity that has voiced an interest in purchasing the bankrupt hospitals is the non-profit arm of Prime Healthcare.

That non-profit — Prime Healthcare Foundation Inc. — has not yet made its 2024 IRS Form 990 publicly available. It operates Landmark in Rhode Island.