COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Unlike in the past, there will be no announcement of Branch County’s first baby of 2024 following the decision two months ago by ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital to close its Labor, Delivery, Recovery and Postpartum department.
After the announcement was made in November, the department officially closed over the weekend.
This followed the hospital shutting down ProMedica Home Health serving Branch and Hillsdale Counties and ProMedica Hospice serving Branch, Hillsdale and St. Joseph Counties in late October.
A statement from ProMedica in November said they will continue to provide gynecological services to the community after the unit shut down as Dr. John Clark will remain on staff.
The department closing comes as the hospital’s future is murky at best.
On April 1, 2023, ProMedica Health System, Inc., and an affiliate of American Healthcare Services, Inc., AHS Coldwater LLC, entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement for the sale of substantially all of the assets of the Coldwater hospital for $8,500,000.
The proposed sale was made public just over a month later. The closing was conditioned upon, and subject to review and approval by the State Attorney General. But according to the Attorney General’s office, ProMedica Health Systems, Incorporated exercised its option to terminate the proposed sale of ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital to American Healthcare Services on November 3.
A letter from ProMedica Site Administrator Dan Schwanke to hospital staff members at that time said, “ProMedica remains committed to navigating this complex sale process which may take several more months to complete. While we remain in communication with AHS and are hopeful to complete the transaction with them, we are open to conversations with other prospective partners. We will supply additional details as the process moves forward.”
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