The financially-strapped Doctors Hospital Health System, which recently laid off 33 employees, has its Western Medical Plaza on Blake Road up for sale or lease.
After weeks of speculation that the Western Medical Plaza was on the market, management of Doctors Hospital Health System confirmed via a press statement yesterday that its western medical facility was on the market.
This announcement came about three months after the hospital sent 33 workers home citing financial woes.
The financial performance of Doctors Hospital Health System, which encompasses Doctors Hospital and the Western Medical Plaza, continues to be negatively affected by the general downturn in the economy, Chief Financial Officer, Darron Cash told the Bahama Journal in an earlier interview.
He said then that the overall financial results reflected a significant falloff in volume in Doctors Hospital Health System’s core facility, Doctors Hospital on Shirley Street.
“The impact has been broad in scope and not limited to any single operational area or company, including the Western Medical Plaza,” Mr. Cash said.
However, in a press statement during the same period hospital officials said that the foundation for financial success at the Western Medical Plaza was at the time, firmly in place, particularly with the opening of the family medicine center. The facility’s management considered this a “highlight” last year.
Despite this optimistic note just three months ago, the company is now soliciting proposals for the immediate sale or lease of the 34,000 square-foot complex.
Earlier, Mr. Cash noted that the operating expenses for Doctors Hospital Health System, amounted to $20.1 million for the nine months ended October 31, 2002 – an increase of 0.3 percent when compared to the same period the year before.
“The increase reflects the additional operating costs of the Western Medical Plaza and Bally Total Fitness,” he said.
The new facilities, according to Mr. Cash, also account for the 46 percent increase in depreciation and the 97 percent increase in interest.
Meanwhile, Doctors Hospital Health System has been undergoing an “intensive review” of its overall business strategies, for the last several months, according to Mr. Cash.
“The board of directors is fully engaged and a special strategic planning committee of the Board is meeting regularly to review strategies for long and short-term operations. Along with management, the directors are committed to resolving promptly all issues that have impacted the company’s performance,” Mr. Cash said.
He refused yesterday to say how long the Blake Road facility was on the market.
Mr. Cash added though that the planned initiatives will not negatively impact the ongoing operations of the company’s thriving Bally Total Fitness subsidiary, or its members.
Based on the business trends evidenced last year, the health care facility’s management said earlier that it expected anemic financial performances to continue through the fiscal year that ended January 31, 2003. Last year alone, the company’s operating losses were $1.3 million.
By Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
