Tenet submits proposal to purchase Desert Regional Medical Center

Tenet has submitted a proposal to the Desert Health Care District to purchase Desert Regional Medical Center.

The proposal would entail a financial commitment of $319 to $380 million, with $120 million allotted for the “base purchase”, $119-180 million for “seismic investment” and $80 million for investment in local healthcare services, according to Desert Healthcare District’s July 16 agenda.

Todd Burke, director of communications and public relations for Desert Regional, issued the following statement about the proposed acquisition:

“Last year’s boundary expansion of the District has created the need for additional funding to support the District’s valley-wide priorities. We believe Tenet ‘s purchase of the hospital would provide the District with the financial resources it needs to support its various healthcare initiatives. The District and Desert Care Network have a long-standing and successful partnership delivering critical healthcare services to our community. By agreeing to sell DRMC , we believe the District will be able to focus on near-term expansion of its community health initiatives and Desert Care Network can better prioritize its investment across the Coachella Valley. ”

In Desert Health Care District’s agenda, the breakdown for the financial commitment is summarized as follows:

Base Purchase price

The purchase of the hospital would be at Fair Market Value ( FMV ), consistent with the analysis performed by the District’s independent consultants ( VMG Health) The purchase price to be paid in installments over remaining eight year term of lease Seismic Investment

Current California state seismic regulations require all acute care hospitals to comply with certain building regulations by January 2030 Capital improvements would be made to ensure that DRMC meets any required seismic compliance guidelines to keep facility operational by the applicable deadline(s) Investment in Coachella Valley healthcare services

Tenet would commit to making future investments in healthcare services and capital projects over the next 8 years to further enhance the community’s access to health care, such as the development of primary care access-points and additional physician resource investment

According to the agenda, Tenet currently has 65 hospitals in its network.