The president of a nonprofit in the process of purchasing Commonwealth Health and its Scranton and Wilkes-Barre hospitals spoke with the newspaper this week about the sale and its potential impact on health care in the region.
The nonprofit WoodBridge Healthcare Inc.’s pending acquisition of Commonwealth from subsidiaries of Tennessee-based Community Health Systems Inc. includes Commonwealth’s Regional Hospital of Scranton, nearby Moses Taylor Hospital, and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, as well as Commonwealth’s ambulatory surgery centers, emergency departments, imaging centers, walk-in clinics and other local facilities.
WoodBridge President Don Steigman, who brings more than 30 years of health care administration experience to the recently formed nonprofit, previously served as president and chief operating officer of Jackson Health System, a $7 billion nonprofit hospital system based in Miami-Dade County, Florida, among other experience. He also brings “expertise in operational optimization, financial turnaround and strategic planning,” according to WoodBridge.
Steigman addressed the pending, $120 million Commonwealth sale and what’s next for the financially challenged health system in a brief phone interview. His answers presented here have been edited for length and clarity.
About WoodBridge
WoodBridge Healthcare is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping hospitals and health systems provide high-quality, patient-centered care and community support. Our goal is to achieve this by acquiring hospitals in urban and rural areas, providing capital and optimizing their operations and services to better position the hospitals and caregivers to serve their patients and their community. The WoodBridge Healthcare leadership team consists of healthcare industry experts with decades of experience who are dedicated to preserving and expanding access to care in the communities we serve.