THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310304
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 48 lines
DePaul Medical Center gets a new owner today. Bon Secours Health System officially takes over, with plans to maintain the Norfolk facility as a full- service, general hospital.
DePaul, which has had financial trouble in recent years, was sold by the Daughters of Charity system. Officials won't disclose the amount of the sale, which includes several other health care properties. A report from the state's Cost Review Council listed DePaul's total assets as $82 million in 1995.
The new owner, based in Marriottsville, Md., owns two other Hampton Roads hospitals, both in Portsmouth: Maryview Medical Center and Portsmouth General Hospital, which it bought in May. The company plans to shut down Portsmouth General.
There are no plans to close DePaul, however. Company officials say it's important to maintain a presence in Norfolk, where it will compete with two successful hospitals owned by Sentara Health System - Sentara Norfolk General and Sentara Leigh.
Patients ``want a balance for the city of Norfolk,'' said Richard A. Hanson, DePaul's new top administrator.
The company will do some consolidating to save money, starting with Hanson's job. He will be the single chief executive officer for DePaul and Maryview. Hanson left Norfolk-based Sentara Health System to take the job.
The company also has chosen a new administrator for DePaul, Sharon M. Tanner, who comes from St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond, another Bon Secours facility. Kevin Conlin, who ran DePaul for the Daughters of Charity, chose to take a job with that company's main office in St. Louis, Mo.
Hanson said DePaul and Maryview will look at sharing some administrative departments. Whether they will also try to consolidate medical services is still a question.
He said DePaul has been improving financially. ``The hospital, I think, will continue to be successful,'' Hanson said. The hospital finished in the black in 1994, after losing money the previous year, according to a report from the Cost Review Council.
Bon Secours, like Daughters of Charity, is a nonprofit group affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. Bon Secours officials say the religious affiliation means the hospital will continue a commitment to charity care and community service.
In addition to the three hospitals in Norfolk and Portsmouth, the company helps manage Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News. The company also owns three hospitals in Richmond. by CNB