Quorum Health, the company that owns and operates Big Bend Regional Medical Center in Alpine, has entered into an agreement with Healthside Partners to transition all of its for-profit hospitals to nonprofit entities as early as this fall.
Healthside Partners — a nonprofit that works with rural and mid-sized hospitals to help them achieve financial sustainability — is buying all of Quorum Health's assets. Once the transition is complete, Quorum Health’s network of hospitals will operate as Healthside Partners facilities.
In a May press release, Quorum Health stated that the change will allow hospital management to “unlock new opportunities for philanthropic support, tax-exempt funding, and expanded partnerships.” Quorum Health says it expects to complete the nonprofit transition by Fall 2026, pending state and federal regulatory review.
“The reality is that our industry is constantly facing growing financial, operational, and regulatory pressures. It is becoming increasingly challenging to deliver care and support a strong workforce without pursuing strategic solutions,” Quorum Health CEO Chris Harrison said in the press release. “By becoming a nonprofit, we are strengthening our ability to serve rural communities that rely heavily on government-sponsored programs.”
In an email to Marfa Public Radio, a Quorum Health spokesperson said the change will allow the company to receive donations from individuals and foundations, as well as enter into more beneficial partnerships with other nonprofit groups. The spokesperson said facility and equipment improvements will also benefit from lower cost, tax-exempt financing, which could “improve service offerings and expand access” for patients.
“For our community, this would support reinvesting more resources locally,” said Big Bend Regional Medical Center CEO Wendy Barnett. “Our mission and day-to-day operations remain the same.”
Barnett said the hospital’s current staff and local board will remain in place.
Brewster County Judge Greg Henington said he’s curious to learn more about how the hospital will make the transition, but he’s optimistic about the switch and the new financial opportunities it could bring to the hospital.
Henington also noted that nonprofit organizations are required to make their finances available to the public, which could result in more transparency.
“ I think this nonprofit may give the community and the local government like us and the hospital district an opportunity to see under the tent,” he said.
Henington said he is set to meet with Barnett soon to learn more about the shifting models.
“ At the end of the day, we're all pulling on the same cart to get the best healthcare for our community,” he said.
Marfa Public Radio reached out to the Big Bend Regional Hospital District – a local public health entity that works frequently with the hospital – for comment on the transition but did not immediately receive a response.
Quorum Health currently operates 11 hospitals in rural and mid-sized communities across the country, including two in West Texas – Big Bend Regional Medical Center and Odessa Regional Medical Center.
Alpine’s Big Bend Regional Medical Center is the sole hospital serving the entire Big Bend region. Like many rural hospitals in the U.S., it has in recent years faced staffing shortages that in 2022 prompted former employees to air their concerns about patient safety, as the Big Bend Sentinel reported at the time.
This is not Quorum Health’s first brush with financial restrategization — the company filed for bankruptcy in 2020, during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has since gone from owning 23 hospitals to 11. A Quorum Health spokesperson said the company has been working toward financial stability and the transition to a nonprofit model “is about the future.”
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