Likely buyer of NJ's Christ hospital requested expedited approval

In a move that healthcare advocates and a local nurses' union say they find troubling and suspicious, the prospective buyer of Jersey City's Christ Hospital has asked that the sale of the hospital be expedited so that the deal concludes by the end of this year. In an Aug. 12 "letter of intent" addressed to Christ President and CEO Peter A. Kelly, a vice president representing Prime Healthcare Services lists several terms of the sale agreement between Christ Hospital and Prime, the California-based company negotiating to buy the facility. Among the terms enumerated is the agreement that "the closing of this transaction would occur as soon as is commercially reasonable after all conditions to the closing?have been satisfied, but in no event later than Dec. 31, 2011." The following month, on Sept. 13, Kelly sent an 18-page letter to the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General requesting that the department approve Prime's purchase of Christ Hospital by Dec. 31.