Cleveland Clinic, HCA among finalists to take over Florida hospital

Four finalists have been chosen to take over operations of the 335-bed Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach, Florida, with the highest bid coming from for-profit operator HCA at $415 million.

TCPalm reported besides HCA, not-for-profits Cleveland Clinic, Adventist Sunbelt and Orlando Health were also chosen among the eight health systems which had submitted bids. HCA’s $415 million was far and away the largest, while the two lowest bids made by Cleveland Clinic ($102 million, plus an undetermined amount of capital spending) and Orlando Health ($140 million to $260 million) were also selected.

Only Cleveland Clinic was selected unanimously by the trustees of the Indian River County Hospital District. Others expressed reservations about considering HCA’s bid.

“They don’t tend to put the patient first,” said Hal Brown, MD, the hospital’s chief of staff. “I don’t know how you can rely on promises with that kind of mentality.”

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John Gregory, Senior Writer

John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.

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