Prime Healthcare announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of St. Francis Medical Center, signaling a new era of service excellence and award-winning healthcare for an essential medical facility in Los Angeles County.

After an extensive four-month review process and public hearing, the sale of the 384-bed Lynwood, CA hospital to Prime Healthcare received final approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California and the California Attorney General. Prime was chosen as the best and highest bidder to acquire St. Francis based on a significant financial commitment of over $350 million, unique ability to turn around struggling hospitals, history of clinical quality and a commitment to continue the mission of the hospital. Prime will continue service lines, charity care and community benefits while investing millions in technology, systems and infrastructure improvements to modernize the delivery of patient-centered care.

“Prime Healthcare is honored to continue the legacy of St. Francis Medical Center, an indispensable community partner comprised of committed doctors, nurses, and staff dedicated to saving lives and serving all those in need,” said Sunny Bhatia, MD, CEO of Region I of Prime Healthcare. “Prime is prepared to lead St. Francis into a bright future and we are grateful for the opportunity along with the support we have received from the community.”

St. Francis Medical Center, located in Southeast Los Angeles, is a historic acute care hospital with one of the largest and busiest emergency departments and Level II trauma centers in Los Angeles County, treating nearly 64,000 emergency patients and more than 2,000 trauma patients a year.

“Prime has remained deeply committed to St. Francis and was chosen as the most capable and only bidder with the fortitude to support the hospital in its time of greatest need, despite the burden of the pandemic, the uncertain future and economic impact on hospitals,” said Rich Adcock, CEO of Verity Health. “We have been impressed by the unwavering dedication and talent of the Prime team and we are confident that Prime will preserve and improve upon the St. Francis legacy for future generations of the South Los Angeles community, as it has done for hospitals and communities time and time again across this nation.”

The sale of the hospital to Prime Healthcare received the support of the St. Francis Board of Directors, community members, staff and physicians, as well as elected officials in Los Angeles County. “I can think of no other health system with the expertise, resources and commitment to quality to take on the crucial task of preserving St. Francis for the South Los Angeles community,” said Inglewood Mayor James Butts, whose own community hospital, Centinela Hospital Medical Center, was on the brink of closure before being saved by Prime in 2007. “Centinela Hospital Medical Center is today one of the leading hospitals in Los Angeles County, more than fulfilling the promises Prime Healthcare made years ago to our community.”

Attorney General Xavier Becerra noted that his approval of the sale of St. Francis to Prime Healthcare “protect(s) access to care for the Los Angeles communities served” by St. Francis. He further noted, “The COVID-19 public health crisis has brought home the importance of having access to lifesaving hospital care nearby in our communities. St. Francis Medical Center is not just an asset, it is an indispensable neighbor, it is the workers who serve the patients, and the doctors who save lives. We conditionally approve this sale to keep it that way.”

“St. Francis Medical Center and Prime Healthcare are both top tier health care institutions, and the completion of the sale cements a win-win for patients, employees, and the community,” stated St. Francis Board Chair Charles (Chad) Druten, Jr. “As a member of the Prime Healthcare family, St. Francis has a strong new network of systems and resources that will enable it to elevate and expand services and maintain its prominence as a place that proudly delivers outstanding, state-of-the-art, compassionate care.”

The bankruptcy judge preliminarily approved the Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) for the sale from Verity Health to Prime in early April. Under the agreement, Prime acquired St. Francis for a net consideration of over $350 million, including over $250 million cash. In addition, Prime has committed to invest $47 million in capital improvements. Prime has already begun executing on its commitment by installing best-in-class technology and systems, such as Epic, an integrated electronic medical records platform, Omnicell systems for automated medication dispensing, and new interventional radiology and cardiology capabilities, all of which will improve the patient and caregiver experience.

Prime’s purchase bid was the highest, best and only qualified bid received by the Bankruptcy Court, which praised the bid for securing the mission of St. Francis, preserving jobs that would otherwise be lost and saving a hospital that was insolvent. Prime not only offered the highest purchase price, but also committed to meeting and exceeding mandates for healthcare access and services. Prime committed to maintaining all essential care, trauma care, charity care and community benefit programs, while continuing St. Francis’s long-standing mission of service. Prime plans to expand service lines based on community need.

“With the acquisition of St. Francis Medical Center by Prime Healthcare, our community can be confident that St. Francis Medical Center will always be available for them when they need us,” said Maxine Anderson, MD, St. Francis Chief of Staff. “Prime has already substantially completed the installation of a new medical record system and will continue to offer comprehensive healthcare services that include outpatient services to basic emergency services, women’s services, stroke/STEMI services, trauma services, and more. We look forward to continuing these key services with Prime Healthcare’s acquisition and leadership.”

Substantially all of St. Francis’s employees have been retained, and Prime has successfully reached initial three-year collective bargaining agreements with the hospital’s labor unions, SEIU-UHW and UNAC, which represent more than 85 percent of the hospital’s employees.

Prime Healthcare is nationally recognized for its success in saving financially distressed hospitals and its clinical excellence, with its hospitals named among the nation’s “100 Top Hospitals” 53 times. In addition, Prime has received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards than any other health system in the country for five consecutive years (2016-2020), according to Healthgrades.

With the addition of St. Francis Medical Center, Prime Healthcare owns and operates 46 hospitals in 14 states with nearly 40,000 employees and physicians.

About Prime Healthcare

Prime is one of the nation’s leading health systems with 46 hospitals in 14 states. Prime serves over 600 communities, employs 40,000 staff and provides 2.6 million patient visits annually. In California alone, Prime operates 16 hospitals, employs more than 10,000 people, and serves tens of thousands of patients annually. Prime is nationally recognized for award-winning quality care and has been named a Top 10 and Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health. Its hospitals have also been named among the nation’s best as ”100 Top hospitals” 53 times and have received more Patient Safety Excellence Awards from Healthgrades than any other health system in the past five years.

Life Spine, a medical device company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets products for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders, announced  that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market the PLATEAU-X Ti Lateral Lumbar Spacer System.

“The launch of PLATEAU-X Ti furthers our commitment of offering micro invasive solutions that are designed to save time, save money, and accelerate patient recovery,” said Mariusz Knap, Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Life Spine. “PLATEAU-X Ti and all of our titanium implants offer a proprietary surface treatment, Osseo-Loc™. PLATEAU-X Ti improves our already extensive lateral portfolio comprised of PROLIFT® Lateral Expandable Spacer System, CENTRIC® Plier-Style Retractor, and SENTRY® Lateral Plating Systems.”

The PLATEAU-X Ti Lateral Lumbar Spacer enables surgeons to effectively provide anterior column support through a lateral approach. The PLATEAU-X Ti Lateral Lumbar Spacer incorporates a comprehensive set of instruments and implants to streamline the surgical procedure.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Self-distracting leading edge to ease implant insertion
• Osseo-Loc™ Titanium Surface Treatment Technology
• Available in 0?, 7? and 15? lordosis: 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60mm lengths: 8 – 16mm heights: 18, 22 and 26mm widths
• Convex design maximizes vertebrae endplate contact for ideal patient fit
• Large, open graft windows for maximum visibility and bone graft containment

Imricor Medical Systems, Inc. the global leader in MRI-guided cardiac ablation products, is pleased to announce a sales collaboration with Optoacoustics Ltd, the world leader in innovative, high performance optical communication solutions for magnetic resonance (MR) applications.

The collaboration establishes a formal relationship between Imricor and Optoacoustics to facilitate the introduction of the IMROC IRTM Wireless Multichannel Communication System to Imricor customers. IMROC provides wireless noise cancelling MRI headsets that can be used by up to 8 participants simultaneously, including the patient. The system was developed specifically for use in iCMR environments.

Given the noise and complexities of MRI, normal conversation can be difficult during iCMR procedures. The IMROC IR System is the first multichannel wireless audio system in the world to operate without RF. The system uses light waves for transmission with no impact on MRI imaging, enabling calm, clear dialog between doctors and technicians.

“Optoacoustics is a well-known company in the communication space. The technology is very innovative and supports our overall strategy of bringing cardiac interventions into the iCMR,” said Nick Twohy, Imricor’s Director of Marketing.

Imricor products are specifically designed to work under real-time MRI guidance, with the intent of enabling higher success rates along with a faster and safer treatment compared to conventional procedures using x-ray guided catheters. Imricor is the first and only company to offer cardiac ablation devices for use in the MRI environment.

Dr. Yuvi Kahana, CEO and Co-Founder of Optoacoustics stated, “We’re thrilled and excited – it’s hard to imagine a better fit for IMROC. Imricor’s advances in cardiac catheter ablation highlight the productive benefits of simple, comfortable communications among iCMR staff, and IMROC provides the most effective and robust noise cancelling solution available.”

Celltrion Group announced the launch of two rapid kits for SARS-CoV-2 in the US by the third week of August. SAMPINUTETM COVID-19 Antigen MIA is an electrochemical immunoassay test for detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigen from nasopharyngeal swab samples, composed of one time use test cartridges and a portable analyzer developed in collaboration with BBB1.

DiaTrustTM COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test is a one-step in-vitro diagnostic test based on immunochromatographic assay designed for the rapid detection of antibodies of the novel coronavirus in healthcare settings in collaboration with Humasis2.

Both SAMPINUTETM COVID-19 Antigen MIA (antigen test) and DiaTrustTM COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test (antibody test) have shown reliable performance and promising clinical trial results. SAMPINUTETM COVID-19 Antigen MIA has a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 100%, with time to results within 10 minutes.

DiaTrustTM COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test also shows reliable performance with 96% positive percent agreement and 98.67% negative percent agreement for IgM, 92% positive percent agreement and 100% negative percent agreement for IgG. The turnaround time is 15 minutes.

Celltrion requested Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for SAMPINUTETM COVID-19 Antigen MIA on July 24th, and for DiaTrustTM COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test on July 8th. The rapid tests kits are currently under the review of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization. Celltrion anticipates the FDA EUA approval and subsequent commercialization in the US market by mid-August.

Celltrion is also developing a potential antiviral treatment for COVID-19 with its phase I clinical study initiated on July 17th.

Celltrion plans to launch the second generation antibody and antigen tests, in collaboration with the DiaTrustTM COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test’s manufacturer Humasis, for which Celltrion will apply its proprietary COVID-19 antibody-antiviral technology to enhance detection sensitivity during the second half of 2020.

“Celltrion has been striving to bring the tests into the US. The need for more accessible, affordable, and most importantly, rapid diagnostic testing will grow, as the daily activities are coming back, and the economy is opening up again,” a Celltrion representative stated. “With the short turnaround time and promising performance of the sensitivity and specificity results, Celltrion is confident that both SAMPINUTETM COVID-19 Antigen MIA and DiaTrustTM COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test will add great value to healthcare providers in screening patients and keeping communities safe.”

About Celltrion, Inc

Headquartered in Incheon, Korea, Celltrion is a leading biopharmaceutical company, specializing in the research, development and manufacture of small molecules, biosimilars and innovative drugs. Celltrion strives to provide more affordable biosimilar mAbs to patients who previously had limited access to advanced therapeutics. Celltrion received FDA and EC’s approval for INFLECTRA® and Remsima®, respectively, the world’s first mAb biosimilar approved from regulatory agencies in developed countries.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services today announced a new value-based payment model for rural healthcare providers. The Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model ties payment to value, increases choice and lowers costs for patients, CMS said.

CHART will provide support through new seed funding and payment structures, operational and regulatory flexibilities and technical and learning support.

HOW IT WORKS

Providers interested in the CHART Model have two options for participation: the Community Transformation Track and the Accountable Care Organization Transformation Track.

The Trump Administration is investing up to $75 million in seed money to allow up to 15 rural communities to participate in the Community Transformation Track. The investment allows for the implementation of care delivery reform, provides predictable capitated payments and offers operational and regulatory flexibilities.

Through these flexibilities, providers can pursue care transformation such as expanding telehealth to allow the beneficiary’s place of residence to be an originating site and waiving certain Medicare hospital conditions of participation to allow a rural outpatient department and emergency room to be paid as if they were classified as a hospital.

The model also allows participant hospitals to waive cost-sharing for certain Part B services and provide transportation support.

In September, CMS will select up to 15 rural communities to participate in this track, with the winners being announced in early 2021 and the model starting in the summer of 2021.

The Accountable Care Organization Transformation Track offers an upfront investment. It builds on the success of the ACO Investment Model (AIM), which saved $382 million over three years, CMS said.

Providers participating in the ACO Transformation Track will enter into two-sided risk arrangements as part of the Medicare Shared Savings Program and may use all waivers that are available in the MSSP program.

CMS anticipates releasing a request for applications in the spring of 2021 and selecting up to 20 rural ACOs to participate in this track starting in January 2022.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Americans living in rural areas have worse health outcomes and higher rates of preventable diseases than the over 57 million Americans living in urban areas, CMS said.

Impediments such as transportation challenges disproportionately impact rural Americans and their access to care. Rural providers experience healthcare workforce shortages and operate on thin margins. Over 126 rural hospitals have closed since 2010.

The percent of hospitals with negative operating margins is between 44-52%. Many rural hospitals also have difficulty recruiting and retaining medical professionals.

For these and other reasons, rural providers have been slow to adopt national value-based payment models.

THE LARGER TREND

The Community Health Access and Rural Transformation Model delivers on President Trump’s Executive Order from last week on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth Access as well as the President’s Medicare Executive Order and CMS’s Rethinking Rural Health initiative.

CMS took steps in the 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule published on August 4 to extend the availability of certain telemedicine services after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.

CMS has also increased the wage index for low wage index hospitals, including many rural hospitals. The agency has reduced the minimum required level of supervision for hospital outpatient therapeutic services furnished by all Critical Access Hospitals from direct supervision to general supervision, allowing procedures to be furnished under the physician’s overall direction and control but without his presence.

ON THE RECORD

“The Trump Administration has placed an unprecedented priority on improving the health of the one in five Americans who live in rural areas,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. The CHART Model represents our next opportunity to make investments that will transform the rural healthcare system, allowing us to use every lever to support all Americans getting access to high-quality care where they live.

Clif Gaus, president and CEO of the National Association of ACOs welcomed the alternative payment model for rural providers.

“The ACO Transformation Track offers resource-deprived rural providers a helping hand to invest in the tools needed to build accountable care models, including health IT, data analytics and care managers,” Gaus said. “NAACOS has for the last couple of years encouraged CMS to restart the ACO Investment Model, on which today’s ACO Transformation Track is based.

Another way to support rural providers in ACOs would be for CMS to address a flaw in how CMS sets ACO spending targets, or benchmarks, to ensure rural ACOs are not disadvantaged compared to other ACOs, Gaus said. This is often referred to as the “rural glitch.”

NAACOS calls on CMS to continue expanding the progress of ACOs by allowing new ACOs to join the Medicare Shared Savings Program in 2021. Earlier this year the agency canceled a new 2021 MSSP ACO class due to challenges with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.