Business

Board shoots down O'Connor's Pardee sale proposal

By Bill Moss, Published: June 5, 2012

Henderson County Commissioner Bill O'Connor tried unsuccessfully to start a process that could have led to the sale of Pardee Hospital. The motion failed on a 4-1 vote.

O'Connor predicted that Pardee's agreement to partner with Mission Hospitals on a joint health care campus in Fletcher would end with Mission taking over Pardee.
Instead, he said, the county should find out the facility's value by inviting hospital chains across the country to bid on it. He made a motion to direct the county manager to put out a request for qualifications, a preliminary step toward a possible sale.
"Because of this project, all of us have heard talk about various ways to maybe do something different," he said. "Ii just recently have heard from community leaders the idea of maybe leasing the hospital and creating a stream of revenue. I think we need to go farther" and explore the sale of the hospital. The motion failed on a 4-1 vote, with the other four all saying the management agreement with UNC Health Care has set the course for Pardee at least for now.

"We’ve got a relationship now that’s a working relationship," said Commissioner Charlie Messer, the board's liaison to the Pardee Board of Trustee. "I wouldn’t vote for any change."

“I think this board has gone on record and I think we can reiterate tonight that Pardee Hospital is not for sale,” said Commissioner Mike Edney. “I would oppose any motion that would put that out there as an option.”