PEABODY — One year after Curahealth acquired a dozen long-term acute-care hospitals for $27.5 million, it announced its facility on King Street will close in October.
The privately-held firm, which purchased 783 licensed beds in Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee from Kindred Healthcare, cited declines in Medicare reimbursement and patient admissions for the closure of the 50-bed facility.
It’s unclear what will happen to the other two Massachusetts facilities Curahealth operates in Boston and Stoughton. A company spokeswoman did not respond to a request for more information.
On Monday, Curahealth told the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) that officials have met with physicians and staff at the facility to inform them of the closing.
“We made every effort to continue serving our patients and their families on the North Shore, and to continue employing our valued Curahealth staff at this hospital,” said Market CEO Robert Gundersen, in a statement. “But our financial losses, fueled in part by deep reimbursement cuts implemented last year, make that no longer possible.”
DPH said they will schedule a public hearing to provide residents to present their concerns about the proposed closure.
Last year, Curahealth CEO Chester Crouch painted a different picture of the company’s future at the closing with Kindred when he looked forward to “providing high-quality healthcare to existing and future patients in the markets these hospitals serve.”
Curahealth has 10 patients in the Curahealth Boston North Shore hospital. During the transition, patients will continue to receive high quality medical care, the company said.
The provider pledged to work with patients, their families and referring physicians seeking long-term care to connect them with nearby options.
Curahealth has retained a local real estate firm, which they declined to name, to help transition the Peabody property after the facility has closed.
