Sharon, Conn. - Following an intensive two-year-long regulatory review, Essent Healthcare completed its purchase of Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Conn., effective as of 12:01 a.m., April 12, 2002.

"Sharon Hospital is an essential part of this community.  We are honored and humbled to be entrusted with its care," said W. Hudson Connery, Jr., president and CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based Essent Healthcare.

"Both Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Commissioner Raymond Gorman of the Office of Health Care Access exercised great and appropriate care in their review of this sale to be certain the people of this community were ensured continued access to quality health care. We appreciate their diligence and look forward to fulfilling the pledge we have made to the people served by Sharon Hospital."

Sharon Hospital is the third acquisition for Essent Healthcare, making the three-year-old hospital company a $100 million corporation.

Essent's policy for hospital purchases is unhurried, with a focus on selecting hospital's considered essential to growing communities.

"A good test of whether a hospital is essential is this: If the hospital were to suddenly disappear, would the community feel a significant loss of access to good health care?  If so, it's an essential hospital," Connery said.  "I believe Sharon Hospital meets that criterion.

"As part of its $25 million acquisition, Essent has committed to the continuation of all of the hospital's current health care services, an $8 million renovation of the facility over five years, a physician recruiting effort and the continuation of the hospital's charity and indigent care policies.

Bill Heburn, the new CEO of Sharon Hospital, echoed Connery's sentiment. "Upon my first visit to this hospital, I was impressed by the excellence of the physicians and staff; I look forward to working with them to deliver the kind of care residents have counted on for decades."

The completed sale of Sharon Hospital to Essent Healthcare will also result in the creation of a community fund, operated by an independent community board.  

John R. "Rusty" Chandler, chairman of the Sharon Hospital Board of Trustees, extended gratitude to legislators, including Rep. Roberta Willis and Sen. Andrew Roraback, medical staff, employees and members of the community for their dedication to the hospital.

"We have seen employees give up countless hours of their time to educate the community about the sale, the medical staff devoted time and talents to finding a solution to the hospital's financial crisis and our legislators served the vital roles of making sure we knew what was expected of us throughout the process," Chandler said. 

In June 2000, Sharon Hospital's board of trustees and Essent signed a letter of intent.  Following a three-month due diligence process, a definitive asset purchase agreement was signed on Oct. 14, 2000.  Both parties then began the approval process with the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) and the Connecticut Attorney General's office.

Because the sale of Sharon Hospital is the first test of a law governing hospital conversions under Connecticut General Statutes Section 19a-486, the transaction required a rigorous and thorough authorization process.  Approval of Essent's purchase of Sharon Hospital marks the first conversion of a Connecticut hospital from a tax-exempt to tax-paying facility.

The regulatory review process included a series of public hearings by both the state attorney general's office and OHCA.  An estimated 600-to-900 people attended a joint public hearing at The Hotchkiss School's Walker Auditorium in June 2001. Community support for the sale was vivid en route to the school and on the campus, with yellow ribbons and signs greeting the two officials as they entered the area.  The auditorium was packed and approximately 130 people made their way to the front to speak, an overwhelming majority of them in favor of the sale. 

Three other regulatory hearings followed, including separate technical hearings by the attorney general's office and OHCA.  The final hearing, held by OHCA to review the Certificate of Need application, was on March 21, 2002.  Approval of the Certificate of Need was granted March 27.   

"One of the most dedicated individuals throughout this process has been Jim Hutchison, a hospital employee and one of the founders of the Friends of Sharon Hospital," Chandler said. 

"He organized a community education campaign, utilizing everything from drive-through blood pressure screenings to community cookouts to reach people with news about the sale." 

Bruce Janelli, M.D., the Sharon Hospital chief of staff, also thanked the community and staff for their enthusiasm throughout the process.  "This has been a long journey and I believe we have made the right decision in supporting this sale." 

"Essent has shown a commitment to this hospital and region for two years.  We look forward to the expansion of services and facility improvements, and of course, to the continuation of quality care the people of this community have come to expect from this hospital," Janelli said.

"As I have expressed countless times throughout the process, everyone in this community has shown tremendous dedication to this hospital.  Without them, this day would not have been possible," Connery said.  "Sharon Hospital truly is an essential community asset."

Sharon Hospital
Founded in 1909, Sharon Hospital is located in Sharon, about 55 miles west of Hartford, Conn.  The hospital serves residents of 17 communities in three states.  Without Sharon Hospital, residents would have to drive as much as 45 minutes in good weather to access a health care facility.

Essent Healthcare
Essent Healthcare is a Nashville-based hospital company led by Connery, the former chief operating officer for HealthTrust, which owned and managed more than 110 hospitals before being purchased by Columbia in 1995. Hud Connery launched Essent Healthcare in 1999 with the mission of acquiring hospitals that are essential to growing communities in rural and suburban markets and providing them with the financial resources and the expertise they need to grow.  The company already operates Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, Mass., and Crossroads Regional Hospital in Wentzville, Mo.

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