The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy on Wednesday evening approved an $86.1 million deal for Hartford HealthCare to purchase Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, two struggling hospitals owned by bankrupt hospital operator, Prospect Medical Holdings.
The approval marks another step towards concluding a lengthy search to find buyers for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals — a process that often seemed on the brink of failure.
“This is a positive outcome to an initially challenging situation,” said Gov. Ned Lamont in a statement. “Ensuring quality services remain both accessible and affordable for our families and communities has always been one of my top priorities.”
Spokespeople for Prospect CT and Hartford HealthCare did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
In 2022, Prospect signed a deal to sell its three Connecticut hospitals — Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury — to Yale New Haven Health for $435 million. But the deal was mired in setbacks and litigation.
In August 2023, a cyberattack crippled operations at Prospect’s facilities around the country. In 2024, Yale New Haven Health and Prospect Medical sued and countersued each other over the true value of the hospitals. In January 2025, Prospect filed for bankruptcy and, by the following month, Yale officials said a deal appeared “impossible.”
In September, Yale agreed to pay $45 million to Prospect to end all disputes over the hospitals’ sale.
Over the years the Yale deal was pending, Lamont and OHS received broad criticism for the lengthy approval process. That led state legislators to approve a measure earlier this year that allows for an expedited timeline for the acquisition of hospitals that have filed for bankruptcy.
The approval of the deal between Hartford HealthCare and Prospect marks the first transaction reviewed under the expedited “emergency certificate of need” process, which requires the state to issue a decision within 60 days of when the application is deemed complete.
OHS imposed certain conditions on the approval. Hartford HealthCare must maintain all services for a minimum of three years, including labor and delivery and intensive care services at Manchester Memorial, as well as emergency services at Rockville General.
But, in the case of Rockville General, much of the damage to services has already been done. When Prospect purchased the hospital in 2016, Rockville was a full-service, acute care hospital. Today, it functions as a satellite campus of Manchester Memorial, only offering emergency and behavioral health services.
Hartford HealthCare has received sharp criticism for service cuts at Windham Community Hospital, where the health system stopped performing births in 2020. Hartford Healthcare defended its decision, pointing to low birth volumes and difficulty recruiting health care providers. Surrounding residents fought for years to restore services, but the state ultimately approved the closure in 2023.
The University of Connecticut Health Center is poised to acquire Prospect’s third Connecticut facility, Waterbury Hospital. Last week, UConn Health, the state’s flagship academic medical institution, submitted an emergency certificate of need for the acquisition. OHS will hold a public hearing for the transaction on Dec. 19 and must issue a decision by Feb. 9.