Pottstown Memorial Medical Center To Be Sold To Reading Health System

POTTSTOWN, PA — Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and four other area hospitals will be sold to Reading Health System, officials announced late Tuesday afternoon.

The agreement includes the sale of five hospitals owned by Community Health Systems: Phoenixville Hospital, Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, Chestnut Hospital in Philadelphia, Jennersville Regional Hospital in West Grove, and Pottstown Memorial Medical Center.

“Reading Health has a rich 150 year history of providing high-quality, cost-effective healthcare to the
communities we serve. The proposed acquisition will ensure the continued development of acute care
and related assets, provider network and capabilities to best serve our region in a cost-effective manner.
Integrating our new health plan into the continuum of services offers this expanded region increased
access to value based care and further controls costs for employers and individuals,” said Clint
Matthews, President and CEO at Reading Health System, in a prepared statement. “Also, by expanding the scope of our clinical programming through this acquisition, the new system will maximize opportunities to leverage best practices of each organization and further coordinate our brand of high-quality care across the entire system.”

Community Health, a for-profit medical business based in Franklin, Tennessee,, had been rumored to be looking for a buyer for its five area hospitals since last September. According to Bloomberg, the company was in financial trouble last fall and has a lot of long term debt.

>>Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Earns 'C' Patient Safety Grade

The transaction with Reading Health is expected to close at some point this summer.

Community Health has 158 hospitals in 22 states, with a total of nearly 27,000 licensed beds, according to information provided by the company.

Patch file photo