The Board of Regents today approved the University of Iowa’s request to purchase the financially troubled Mercy Hospital in Iowa City for $20 million. University of Iowa president, Barbara Wilson, told the Regents that the school and Mercy have a long history.
“Many of our employees are part connected as neighbors and as family members and friends across the two institutions. And so we’ve been very anxious to watch what’s happening with Mercy Iowa City,” Wilson says. Mercy filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and the hospital would join U-I Healthcare if approved by the bankruptcy court. “We recognize that the outcome is, of course in the hands of the bankruptcy court. But we share a goal to preserve the ability to offer health care access to a wide variety of individuals, both in the community and beyond,” Wilson says.
U-I Vice President for Medical Affairs, Denise Jamieson says they do not know how long the process will take. “We know that this bankruptcy proceeding is very complex, and it’s going to take some time to play out in the court. And there. It’s an evolving situation, we still have many unanswered questions,” Jamieson says.
She says Mercy will continue serving its patients through the bankruptcy proceedings. “It’s critically important that as this moves through the courts, Mercy Iowa City continues to see patients and there not be disruption in care,” she says. “And this will really help all of our patients receive organized timely, high quality health care services from both Mercy Iowa City as well as University of Iowa Health Care.”
Jamieson says they are excited about a potential future where the two would join together us one, and says they think this would be in the best interest of the state’s health care needs. Jamieson says U-I Healthcare will work with Mercy through the process. Over the next weeks, days, weeks, months, we will spend time collaborating with Mercy Iowa City’s current employees and leadership’s to better understand their needs and their ideas and their concerns, and to understand which services will best serve the community,” Jamieson says.
The U-I proposal to buy Mercy Iowa City came after the hospital’s main investor Preston Hollow called for the hospital to be placed in receivership. Preston Hollow had invested $42 million into Mercy Iowa City and says it’s evaluating the deal before taking further action. Mercy Iowa City had rejected the University of Iowa’s offer of more than $600 dollars to buy the facility two years ago and turn it into a community division of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.