Woonsocket Radio News Room

 

Attorney General Neronha announces development in the sale of Roger Williams and Fatima

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today issued the following statement regarding the Bankruptcy Court’s approval of Prospect Medical Holdings’ sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Fatima Hospital to the Centurion Foundation.

“Over the past several weeks, my Office met with counsel for Prospect and the Centurion Foundation to discuss Prospect’s request for bankruptcy court approval of the sale of Roger Williams and Fatima to Centurion. Following these discussions, Prospect filed a revised Proposed Order, which incorporates our position that this sale can only close if Prospect and Centurion satisfy the conditions imposed by the Attorney General’s and RIDOH’s HCA and CEC Decisions. In other words, approval of this sale is conditional on the parties meeting their obligations to the State of Rhode Island.  We reinforced this position in our Response to the sale motion which we filed earlier today.

“Today, Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stacey G. Jerginan approved the sale order incorporating our position, allowing for the private sale to move forward as previously planned.

“The bankruptcy court’s approval of this sale provides reason for cautious optimism. All parties came to the table to prioritize moving these hospitals away from private equity and returning them to local control. At the same time, we can still stop the closing if any of our HCA Decision conditions are not met. Currently, several information requests from the State remain unfulfilled, including those involving critical financial information. My Office will stay vigilant to ensure that our conditions are fully adhered to.

“These safety-net hospitals are absolutely critical for maintaining delivery of safe, affordable and accessible health care services in Rhode Island. Roger Williams and Fatima provide services to largely underserved and underinsured communities, and we must maintain their viability. And in order for us to give these hospitals a fighting chance, our conditions must be met. If all parties meet our conditions as they say they intend to, today brings us one step closer to the finish line.”

A federal judge is blocking parts of President Trump's executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government. On Friday, the judge halted Trump's orders to cancel federal contracts concerning DEI, and his order to make government contractors prove they don't use DEI practices. The judge's injunction does not block the Department of Justice from making lists of companies and universities to investigate.        Hamas is releasing another set of human remains after Israel demanded they hand over the body of a mother taken hostage. Hamas released four bodies on Thursday, but Israel was outraged when the remains of Shiri Bibas were not among them. On Friday, the leader of Hamas said Bibas' remains have now been given to Israel.        The Supreme Court says it will prevent President Trump from firing the head of a top watchdog agency for now. Trump has been trying to fire Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel, but so far has been blocked by lower courts. On Friday, the Supreme Court neither granted nor denied Trump's request to fire Dellinger, instead saying they're choosing not to act because lower court proceedings are moving quickly.        The Trump administration is reversing its decision to make major cuts to the World Trade Center Health Program. The program provides medical treatment to over a-hundred-thousand first responders and survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Officials say they're reinstating research grants that had been cut, and employees who were fired will be allowed to return to their jobs.        White House officials say federal aid for the Los Angeles wildfires will come with strings attached. In an interview with Politico, Trump envoy Richard Grenell said "The federal response is mostly money and so we are going to have strings on the money that we give to California." Grenell didn't specify what the conditions would be, but did say the California Coastal Commisison, which protects the state's coastlines, should be "defunded."        Hackers have made away with one-point-five-billion-dollars in the largest crypto heist in history. Bybit, a major cryptocurrency exchange, announced the news Friday. The hackers compromised an offline storage system, and the stolen funds were quickly transferred and liquidated through various platforms.       

Old News Archives