Records show that the sale of three Connecticut hospitals owned by Prospect Medical Holdings to Yale New Haven Health has already taken longer than several other Connecticut hospital mergers.

YNHH’s purchase of Milford Hospital in 2019 took 204 days from the time a certificate of need was filed, Hartford HealthCare’s acquisition of Saint Vincent’s Medical Center the same year took 267 days, YNHH’s purchase of the Hospital of Saint Raphael in 2012 took 147 days, YNHH’s merger with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in 2016 took 337 days, and Hartford HealthCare’s 2017 acquisition of Charlotte Hungerford Hospital took 351 days.

As of Nov. 19, the YNHH acquisition of the three Prospect hospitals has taken 362 days.

Meanwhile, as the months pass, hospital executives, legislators and local officials say the threat of closure is growing, with the Prospect hospitals owing more than $40 million to vendors and physicians, and in taxes.

Surgeries have been postponed because health care providers don’t have the needed resources. Contracts with traveling nurses and technicians are in jeopardy and remain in place only on a “week-to-week” basis, physicians at the hospitals said. An anesthesiologist group is suing over nonpayment of more than $3 million. The hospitals were also hit with a cyberattack over the summer that crippled operations and set them back further financially.

“The bottom line is the state has taken way too long,” said Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, a Republican whose district includes Waterbury. “When we met with the governor, they were going to be moving that along, supposedly, but it’s been way too long.

Tina Kumar Hyde, a spokeswoman for the Office of Health Strategy, said the current deal is more complex than any the agency has dealt with over the past decade.

“There are three hospitals involved in this transaction, while most other transactions in the past 10 years have only involved one hospital. The process has involved three times the data collection, analysis and synthesis,” Kumar Hyde said.

Read more: Prospect-YNHH deal nearing 1 year of waiting for CT approval