Pipeline Health selling two Illinois hospitals

Los Angeles-based Pipeline Health said Thursday it wants to sell its two Illinois hospitals to Michigan-based Resilience Healthcare.

As part of the $92 million transaction, Resilience, led by Manoj Prasad, will acquire West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Prasad plans to move to the Chicago area and work full-time to “shore-up the financial position of both hospitals.”

“My career turning around hospitals and healthcare organizations has been based on collaborations with and alignment of the medical staff, nurses, support staff and staff on the front lines at hospitals,” Prasad said. “I listen to them and to our patients and community partners and they see I am willing to roll up my sleeves and work side-by-side with them.”

Pipeline Health said it has invested $60 million into both facilities in recent years, specifically once CEO Andrei Soran took over in January 2021. The company said it plans to refund $12 million of the purchase price to reinvest into the hospitals.

“Both parties are interested in a smooth and seamless transition,” Soran said. “All hospital operations will continue as usual with quality, compassionate care delivered to all patients.”

The sale is pending regulatory approval, with both sides saying they will soon apply for an ownership change with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board.

Pipeline acquired the two hospitals, as well as Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, in 2019 for $70 million. It announced shortly afterward it would close Westlake, and the hospital closed later that year after it filed for bankruptcy.

Woodlake Pacific Holdings hope to reopen the former Westlake Hospital, to be renamed Woodlake Hospital, by the end of this year.

Pipeline spokesperson Jane Brust said Thursday the proposed transaction with Resilience has nothing to do with Westlake, noting that happened under the system’s prior leadership team.

“Multiple buyers have expressed interest in these hospitals, and Pipeline’s board has a fiduciary responsibility to consider viable offers,” she said. “Importantly, Prasad has a history of success in healthcare and is a good fit for Weiss and West Suburban.”