Over 100 people gathered Tuesday morning at Waterbury Hospital to celebrate the hospital\u2019s acquisition by the state\u2019s flagship medical institution, UConn Health. The announcement marks the culmination of a years-long saga to find a new owner for the facility, which has, at times, seemed on the brink of closure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elected officials and executives called the moment a \u201crestart\u201d for the hospital. A few also took the opportunity to slam the hospital\u2019s current owner \u2014 the bankrupt, formerly private equity-backed hospital operator, Prospect Medical Holdings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have finally reached a point where we are going to invest in people over profits. Goodbye Prospect,\u201d UConn Health Board Chair John Driscoll said, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2022, Prospect signed a deal to sell Waterbury Hospital, along with its two other Connecticut facilities, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, to Yale New Haven Health for $435 million. But the deal was mired in setbacks and litigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In August 2023, a cyberattack<\/a> crippled operations at Prospect\u2019s facilities around the country. In 2024, Yale New Haven Health and Prospect Medical sued<\/a> and countersued<\/a> each other over the true value of the hospitals. In January 2025, Prospect filed<\/a> for bankruptcy and, by the following month, Yale officials said a deal appeared \u201cimpossible.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Over the last six months, state officials have been hard at work to negotiate Waterbury Hospital\u2019s purchase by UConn Health. The deal would save Waterbury Hospital from closure and help support Gov. Ned Lamont\u2019s goal to improve the financial sustainability of UConn Health, state and hospital officials say.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy. It took a little navigating to get this done over the last six months,\u201d Lamont said. \u201cBut this is a good thing for Waterbury, a really good thing for Waterbury Hospital, and it\u2019s a good thing for the UConn Health system generally.\u201d<\/p>\n The acquisition is structured as a \u201cpublic-private partnership.\u201d Waterbury Hospital will be part of the UConn Health network, but remain private.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, the state submitted a $13 million bid to purchase the hospital, including $4 million for the operating assets and $9 million for the real estate. The state will also assume a limited set of the hospital\u2019s liabilities, bringing the deal\u2019s total value up to $35 million, according to the terms laid out in court documents<\/a>.<\/p>\n Prospect originally paid $31.8 million<\/a> to acquire Waterbury Hospital in 2016. While the state is purchasing Waterbury for less than half of what it was worth almost a decade ago, the facility will require deep investments to address significant quality issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n