PA's Mercy Hospital announces sale

If all goes according to plan, Mercy Hospital in Scranton, PA will have a new name by June after officials announced Thursday that for-profit Community Health Systems Inc. will buy Mercy Health Partners' facilities. CHS has also agreed to invest at least $68 million in Mercy Health Partners' hospitals in Scranton, Nanticoke, Tunkhannock and at outpatient clinics over the next five years and will donate $2 million to a newly created foundation that will promote community wellness. The announcement comes four months after Mercy Health Partners President and CEO Kevin Cook said the nonprofit hospital system was seeking a buyer amid increasing struggles to break even and generate enough money for necessary capital investments.