ProMedica healthcare system said Tuesday that it has initiated steps to sell its Coldwater Regional Hospital in Coldwater, Mich., one of its 13 hospitals owned or managed by the Toledo-based not-for-profit entity.

Located 100 miles northwest of Toledo, Coldwater Regional is an 87-bed acute care hospital that ProMedica has operated since February, 2016. The Toledo healthcare provider later became the sole member of Coldwater Hospital Corporation on Jan. 1, 2018.

It was previously Community Health Center of Branch County.

“ProMedica recently engaged a third-party business broker that specializes in hospital transactions to explore other regional health care providers’ interest in possibly acquiring ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital (CRH),” spokesman Tausha Moore said.

Ms. Moore said ProMedica had made investments into the hospital and that it is profitable. Several potential buyers have expressed interest, she said. The system is exploring a sale because the hospital might benefit from being aligned with a system closer to it, Ms. Moore said.

Coldwater is about 20 miles from Angola, Ind.

“Currently, we are in the process of evaluating possible options to determine which, if any, could best meet the needs of the hospital and community,” Ms. Moore said. “During this phase, ProMedica will continue to fully support [the hospital], as it continues to deliver clinical excellence and compassionate care in the Coldwater community.”

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses a 5-star rating system to evaluate a hospital’s quality when treating Medicare beneficiaries. Coldwater Regional has a 3-star rating.

Besides being one of Pro-Medica’s farthest hospitals from Toledo, Coldwater Regional also has a financial distinction that sets it apart from ProMedica’s other hospitals.

Coldwater Regional is the only major hospital not to be included in ProMedica's “Obligated Group” — its collection of 11 acute care facilities (1,725 licensed beds) and several long-term, skilled nursing and hospice business lines that ProMedica uses to guarantee its public bond debt.

Other businesses that ProMedica has chosen not to include in its Obligated Group are its Paramount Insurance, which announced earlier this month that it will stop providing Medicaid plans in central and southeast Ohio, affecting an estimated 31,000 people.

Also not a part of the Obligated Group is the ProMedica Physicians Group, which is a network of 524 primary care and specialty physicians plus 456 advanced practice providers, and ProMedica Continuum Services, a nonprofit that provides specialty pharmacy, medical equipment, home health, palliative care, hospice, and inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services.

In November in its most recent financial report to bondholders, ProMedica said Coldwater Regional is not part of the Obligated Group, “and ProMedica Corporation does not expect to add Coldwater Hospital Corporation to the Obligated Group at this time.”

First Published January 28, 2020, 11:37 p.m.