What are the next steps in Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet hospital sale

Joliet — The pending $375 million sale of Ascension Saint Joseph–Joliet hospital and a dozen other Ascension-owned facilities in Illinois to Prime HealthCare will face its next hurdle in October.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board will hold another hearing on the proposed sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, 2001 Rodeo Drive.

The board, which oversees hospitals and must approve the change in ownership for it to proceed, held a hearing Friday in the theater at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park in Joliet and offered the public an opportunity to present comments on the issue.

Residents who were unable to attend the hearing on the sale in Joliet on Friday can submit their comments and concerns about the sale to DPH.HFSRB@Illinois by Oct. 9.

Following the submission of comments, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board will release responses and findings online on Oct. 15. Further comments can then be submitted by the public until 9 a.m. on Oct. 21.

California-based Prime HealthCare announced plans in July to purchase Saint Joseph-Joliet as well as eight additional Ascension medical facilities in Illinois, including their satellite offices, as well as four senior living facilities, among them Villa Franciscan Place in Joliet, for a total of $375 million. Ascension will retain an additional five hospitals in the state.

The transaction is expected to close sometime between Jan. 1, 2025, and March 31, 2025, and it is subject to “standard regulatory and canonical approvals,” according to the joint news release.