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Buyer plans to develop aged-care facility. Twenty five years of Adventist health ministry came to an end in New Zealand with the sale of Auckland Adventist Hospital. The doors of the St Heliers Bay, New Zealand, landmark will shut on December 23. The hospital complex has been purchased by three buyers. Ryman Healthcare Limited, has bought the hospital and plans to develop it as an aged-care facility, including a long-stay hospital, rest home, independent apartments and serviced studio units. The acquisition is part of the company's strategy to expand business on New Zealand's North Island. Another company, Calan Healthcare Properties Trust purchased the hospital's medical center, which includes accident, laboratory, physiotherapy and radiology services, a pharmacy and specialist consulting rooms. Calan plans to continue the operation of the center in its current form. The surgical assets of the hospital have been bought by Ascot Hospital & Clinics Limited, who will offer some roles to present hospital staff within its own operation and those of its affiliates. It also plans to provide transfer options for hospital doctors. The offer by Ryman Healthcare to buy was unsolicited and the hospital was not for sale at the time the offer was made. The company initially approached the Trans-Tasman Union Conference (TTUC) on September 10. A final offer was accepted on November 18. Soon after the initial approach, Ryman and the Trans Tasmanian Union Conference, entered into a confidentiality and exclusivity agreement. "We were unsure of the intent and seriousness of the approach," says(TTUC) president Harold Harker, who also serves as hospital trustee. "We feared if a rumor of a sale reached the market before we considered it, it would have a serious destabilizing effect on the hospital." Except for the past two years, the TTUC has had to financially prop up the hospital to an amount of several millions of dollars. Harker said the hospital is now 25 years old and would soon need many more millions spent on it upgrading equipment, refurbishing accommodation and providing new services but lacks both the reserves and cash flow to do so. Other factors relating to the New Zealand economy and the health-care market were also considered before the sale was agreed to. According to Harker, elective surgery is becoming increasingly competitive in Auckland where there is an oversupply of hospital beds and operating theaters Harker sees the sale as an opportunity for the church to refocus its health-care mission in New Zealand and to serve a wider geographical area. Harker also praised the hospital employees, saying, "We appreciate the professionalism and commitment of doctors, staff and volunteers, the local community, friends of the hospital and members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church over the years in making the hospital a quality health-care facility. The support of all staff through this difficult time is appreciated." Those still employed when the hospital closes on December 23 will receive a bonus of two weeks wages or salary. This is in addition to the appropriate redundancies, accrued holidays and long service leave all will receive. Reprinted with permission of the South Pacific Division Record More information
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