Wyckoff Heights only bidder for bankrupt hosps

Last week it appeared that three different Queens hospitals were going to engage in a bidding war for two St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (SVCMC) affiliates, St. John’s Hospital Queens and Mary Immaculate Hospital, however Wyckoff Heights Medical Center was the only group to submit a bid by the June 16 deadline.
Wyckoff Heights reached an asset purchase agreement with St. Vincent on May 10, which made it the preferred choice by St. Vincent to take over both facilities, and since no other bids were submitted, Wyckoff’s bid will go to the bankruptcy court on Monday, June 26, as the sole qualified bidder said Michael Fagan, a spokesperson for SVCMC. Fagan said that the agreement says Wyckoff will pay $41.5 million for the hospitals and assume an extra $22.8 million in fixed liability costs.
Dominic Gio, President and CEO of Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, declined an interview request for this article, deferring comment until after the hearing on June 26.
“I wouldn’t want to say one way or the other,” Fagan said, when asked about whether or not he was surprised no other organizations submitted bids for the hospital. “We never participated in whether we were going to get bids.”
Jamaica Hospital and its parent company MediSys Health Network and Long Island Jewish both expressed interest in submitting bids for Mary Immaculate and St. John’s Hospital, respectively, but their interest was in acquiring one hospital, not acquiring them together like Wyckoff proposed.
“We just did not feel it was in North Shore Jewish’s best interest to submit a bid through this bankruptcy [court process],” said Terry Lynam, a spokesperson for Long Island Jewish. However, Lynam said this does not close the door on North Shore Jewish’s interest in St. John’s Hospital, and they would be willing to reopen discussions before the process concludes.
If the bankruptcy court approves the deal with Wyckoff on June 26, it would go to the department of health for approval for regulatory approval.
“With that process, you have to file various applications with the state, but we would be able to begin the transition process,” Fagan said.