Bishop discusses hospital sale with Mercy board members

Bishop Taylor met hospital leaders for first time since Vatican response

Published: December 10, 2012

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor met Friday, Dec. 7 at St. John Center in Little Rock with Charles E. Thoele, chairman of the Mercy Health Ministry board, and Sister Roch Rockledge, RSM, another board member, to discuss the proposed sale of Mercy Hospital Hot Springs.

The meeting was the first time the bishop, Thoele and Sister Roch talked after getting the Vatican's response on the hospital sale to Capella Healthcare, a for-profit health system based in Henderson, Tenn., that owns National Park Medical Center, also in Hot Springs. Vatican approval is required for an American religious order to alienate property worth more than $5 million. Mercy Health is owned by the Sisters of Mercy. Until Vatican approval is given, the sale cannot be finalized.

The Vatican letter asked Mercy Health Ministry to "explore other possibilities, such as establishing some links with other Catholic institutions which would make (St. Joseph Mercy Health Center's) continued operation viable or to further investigate the possibility of selling it to another Catholic institution ..." instead of proceeding with its proposed sale to Capella Healthcare.

The Diocese of Little Rock issued a statement Dec. 7, saying, "The Vatican did not approve Mercy Health Ministry's proposal to sell St. Joseph Mercy Health Center to Capella Healthcare at this time. Instead they asked Mercy Health Ministry to prayerfully consider Bishop Taylor's deep conviction that proceeding with the proposed sale would have adverse effects. Thoele and Sister Roch Rockledge had a frank discussion about these concerns with Bishop Taylor and assured him that they will bring his concerns to their next board meeting, to take place in St. Louis on Dec. 13-14."

Bishop Taylor said he did not want to provide any more details on the Dec. 7 meeting.

"This is all I want to comment on right now to give Mercy Health Ministry the needed time to consider their next steps based on the response they received from the Vatican," he said.

On Nov. 15, Mercy Health said it was notified of the Vatican response. At that time, Bishop Taylor said he would not comment on the correspondence from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on the votum he submitted with objections to the sale of Mercy Hospital Hot Springs as he had not received it by Nov. 19.

Mercy Health, based in St. Louis, sponsors of Mercy Hospital Hot Springs, and Capella Healthcare signed an agreement in principle in April to sell Mercy Hospital Hot Springs to Capella. When the possible sale was announced, Bishop Taylor said he had "serious reservations" about how Capella would care for the poor and elderly and could potentially offer abortions and sterilizations.