Berkshire Health Systems Closing In On Deal To Acquire NBH

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
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Discussions for Berkshire Health Systems to take over Northern Berkshire Healthcare continued in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Health Systems is closer to a deal to acquire the assets of Northern Berkshire Healthcare.

A status hearing on the bankruptcy proceedings of NBH was held on Wednesday morning in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Harold B. Murphy, the court-appointed trustee of NBH, said "substantial discussions" for both short-term use, and long-term disposal of assets, are ongoing.

"It could be either or both," he said later. "Ideally it would be both."

Both sides reportedly were in negotiations until 11 p.m. Tuesday and again Wednesday morning before the hearing, which started more than a half-hour later than scheduled.

Paul W. Carey of Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP, representing Berkshire Medical Center Inc., said a proposal had been made for the NBH properties last week and put in writing and a response had been received.

"There are open issues that have to be resolved," said Carey. "We are working as diligently as we can to come to a conclusion."

The two health systems had reportedly been in conversations for some time about a merger or partnership before a deal fell apart over NBH's debt. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., trustee for the bondholders, holds some $35 million in new bonds from 2012 after NBH emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Within days, North Adams Regional Hospital was closed and more than 500 jobs were lost.

The hearing showed progress over last week, when Murphy and BHS were at an impasse over how much of the hospital campus would be required to reopen emergency services. Murphy had insisted the entire hospital building would have to be leased; BHS representatives claimed even operating just the emergency department would be too costly and that they would look elsewhere to set up services.

Berkshire Medical Center, an affiliate of BHS, had been designated by Berkshire Superior Court to provide emergency services if at all possible as part of a temporary restraining order requested by the attorney general's office to force NBH to maintain the necessary assets to reopen the emergency department. That order was preempted with a similar order by the federal court.

Since NBH's Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy filing April 3, the Pittsfield-based Berkshire Health Systems has hired more than 140 NBH employees, including doctors, and is maintaining its former OB/GYN, primary care and VNA and hospice services. Some of those are currently going through orientation at BMC's emergency room.

BMC has obtained state licensing to operate a "satellite emergency facility" and is in the process of obtaining the federal approvals.

Robert C. Ross of the attorney general's Business and Labor Bureau, representing the state Department of Health, said final federal licensing could be completed within the week. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will have to accredit the facility being used.

That means everything would have to be in place — from the linens to the nurses and doctors — for CMS to do a walkthrough inspection prior to opening, said Ross.

Judge Henry J. Boroff reiterated that something needs to happen soon to restore emergency services.

"Emergency services of this community need to be addressed immediately," he said. "I will be very disappointed if that progress is delayed because bureaucratic procedure is an obstacle." 

He said he wants to know the name of the person who had to do the final sign-off on emergency services being restored.

"So if there is a tragedy, I know at whom to point the finger."

Another status hearing is scheduled for April 24 at 10 a.m. at U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Updated and complete write-thru at 5:19 p.m.


Tags: bankruptcy,   NARH,   NBH,   

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Mount Greylock School Committee Votes Slight Increase to Proposed Assessments

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to slightly increase the assessment to the district's member towns from the figures in the draft budget presented by the administration.
 
The School Committee opted to lower the use of Mount Greylock's reserve account by $70,000 and, instead, increase by that amount the share of the fiscal year 2025 operating budget shared proportionally by Lanesborough and Williamstown taxpayers.
 
The budget prepared by the administration and presented to the School Committee at its annual public hearing on Thursday included $665,000 from the district's Excess and Deficiency account, the equivalent of a municipal free cash balance, an accrual of lower-than-anticipated expenses and higher-than-anticipated revenue in any given year.
 
That represented a 90 percent jump from the $350,000 allocated from E&D for fiscal year 2024, which ends on June 30. And, coupled with more robust use of the district's tuition revenue account (7 percent more in FY25) and School Choice revenue (3 percent more), the draw down on E&D is seen as a stopgap measure to mitigate a spike in FY25 expenses and an unsustainable budgeting strategy long term, administrators say.
 
The budget passed by the School Committee on Thursday continues to rely more heavily on reserves than in years past, but to a lesser extent than originally proposed.
 
Specifically, the budget the panel approved includes a total assessment to Williamstown of $13,775,336 (including capital and operating costs) and a total assessment to Lanesborough of $6,425,373.
 
As a percentage increase from the FY24 assessments, that translates to a 3.90 percent increase to Williamstown and a 3.38 percent increase to Lanesborough.
 
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