The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy said Wednesday that it approved Hartford HealthCare’s emergency certificate of need application for the transfer of Manchester Memorial Hospital, including the Rockville campus and other assets.
The agency said the decision came 40 days after it deemed the application complete.
“The expedited decision ensures continuity of care for eastern Connecticut residents, while imposing specific conditions designed to ensure preservation of health care access and quality and control cost growth,” said acting commissioner Amy Porter in a statement. “The OHS staff conducted a rigorous and highly efficient process made possible by the emergency CON statute.”
OHS said the decision “imposes conditions on the transfer of ownership that are designed to address potential areas of concern OHS identified with the transaction.”
Manchester Memorial Hospital had to divert patients during the cyberattack. (Shahrzad Rasekh/CT Mirror)
Among these conditions required by the Hartford HealthCare subsidiary purchasing the hospital are, per OHS:
- Provide an initial assessment of the condition of Manchester Memorial Hospital and the Rockville campus, as well as a strategic integration plan, within nine months.
- Engage the community in both strategic planning and community health needs assessment (CHNA) processes within nine months.
- Maintain services offered under the Manchester Memorial Hospital license, which includes the Rockville campus, for the later of three years from the closing of the transaction or 90 days after the publication of the second CHNA, including current labor and delivery and intensive care services.
- Maintain service levels unless OHS grants prior approval for reductions.
- Notify OHS within 30 days of any reallocation of inpatient beds or relocation of outpatient services.
Additionally, the conditions require preservation of “a 24/7 Emergency Department in the town of Vernon, for at least three years and maintenance of the full complement of inpatient behavioral health services at or within 30 miles of the Rockville campus,” the statement said.
“This is a positive outcome to an initially challenging situation,” said Gov. Ned Lamont, according to the statement. “Ensuring quality services remain both accessible and affordable for our families and communities has always been one of my top priorities, and I am very happy that Hartford HealthCare has made this commitment to Manchester, Vernon and the surrounding communities.”
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Hartford HealthCare has previously said it, “is deeply committed to advancing health care through greater access, affordability, health equity, and excellence, and “to that end, Hartford HealthCare has entered into an agreement regarding the two hospitals.”
The Emergency CON decision also require that the Hartford HealthCare subsidiary purchasing the hospital:
- Adopt all existing reimbursement rates with health care payers.
- Negotiate future rates for Manchester Memorial Hospital separately from other hospitals in the Hartford HealthCare system.
- Constrain growth in commercial reimbursements and tie negotiated rates to the Cost Growth.
- Benchmark and the Consumer Price Index for Medical Care in New England (CPI-U Medical).
- Maintain existing ECHN outpatient, non-hospital physician offices, or any offices resulting from future acquisitions, without converting to hospital-based status for billing or reimbursement purposes for a period of three years.
OHS said it worked closely with Lamont’s office “to establish an Emergency CON process in anticipation of the state’s need to address the situation created by Prospect Medical Holdings’ declaration of bankruptcy.”
“We are optimistic about Hartford Healthcare’s bid,” Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne has said. “Preserving Rockville General Hospital and the future of Eastern Connecticut Health Network has been a priority, and I welcome this positive development for our community and region. I am looking forward to meeting with the leadership of Hartford HealthCare and learning about their plans to return services to our hospital.”
State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, a doctor and Senate Chair of the Public Health Committee, noted Wednesday that under some conditions of the Certificate, “Hartford HealthCare will be required to assess community health needs, operate a 24/7 emergency department in Vernon for at least three years after purchase, maintain current inpatient behavioral health services, maintain or enhance currently offered services, keep those services active and forego the conversion of any outpatient, non-hospital physician services for at least three years after acquisition.
“Today’s decision means something very real for our community: hospital doors staying open, neighbors keeping their jobs, and families knowing they can still get the care they need close to home,” he said. “As a physician and as someone who lives and serves here, I’ll be working closely with our health care systems to make this transition smooth and to make sure people are treated with the dignity, stability and quality of care they deserve.”
The Connecticut hospitals Prospect owns, Waterbury, Rockville General and Manchester Memorial, have been mired in ongoing financial and other issues, such as cutting services, as well as criticism by lawmakers and others.
OHS also noted that the University of Connecticut Health Center filed an Emergency CON application related to the transfer of ownership of Waterbury Hospital and related assets on Dec. 5, and that a public hearing related to that docket has been scheduled for Dec. 19, 2025.