Possible buyer emerges for Illinois hospital

A would-be buyer has emerged for St. Francis Hospital & Health Center in Blue Island, IL, that would transfer the facility and other assets to a group of investors affiliated with a for-profit company. St. Francis parent SSM Health Care has signed a "tentative agreement" with MSMC Investors LLC, a buyer working with a startup hospital company known as Transition Healthcare Company. SSM recently announced that it would close the 410-bed hospital due to rising numbers of uninsured and the lack of a buyer.