CoxHealth named as finalist in Skaggs partner search

CoxHealth has been named as one of two finalists in Skaggs Regional Medical Center's search for a strategic partner.

The Branson hospital, which announced it would be searching for a partner after years of mounting operating losses, is also considering Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals. CoxHealth and LifePoint were selected from a pool of six candidates, according to a news release, which did not name the other four candidates.

“We are also looking to secure jobs and future growth and find a good cultural fit for Branson,” said David Smith, chairman of the Skaggs Board of Directors and an attorney with Cantwell, Smith & Trokey LLP, in the release. “The interest expressed by our potential partners is not only gratifying but illustrates the great potential we have as an organization for serving the health care needs of our community for generations to come.”

Smith said the board is searching for a partner to provide strategic resources and capital, and to help support physician recruitment, technology advances and implementation of health care reforms, among other Skaggs initiatives.

CoxHealth and LifePoint now enter a 60- to 90-day review period, after which the Skaggs Board of Directors would sign a letter of intent with a single candidate, with a formal recommendation to the Skaggs Board of Trustees, the release said.

The 165-bed community-owned hospital ended fiscal 2011 with an operating loss of $1.9 million and has recorded operating losses each of the last five fiscal years. The deepest loss, $6 million, occurred in fiscal 2009, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Skaggs President and CEO William Mahoney is scheduled to host a 2:30 p.m. news conference today at the hospital.