Rumors that Mesa View Regional Hospital was sold aren’t true.

“Our parent company, Community Health Systems (CHS), did not sell Mesa View,” Patty Holden, Chief Executive Officer at Mesquite’s hospital, told the Mesquite Local News. “CHS plans to spin off its 38 smaller hospitals into a new publicly traded hospital company. Mesa View will be part of the new company which will be named Quorum Health Corporation.”

The spin-off transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016. CHS will remain the parent company of Quorum Health Corporation.

“We think it will be a good move for our local hospital,” Holden continued. “The new corporate structure will have less layers of management. But most importantly, it will allow a greater focus on rural and smaller hospitals that have much different needs than larger metropolitan hospitals.”

Patty Holden, CEO of Mesa View Regional Hospital, dispelled rumors that Mesquite’s hospital was sold. It and 37 other medical facilities around the company are being spun off by its parent corporation into a new company that focuses more on smaller hospitals. Photo by Barbara Ellestad.

Patty Holden, CEO of Mesa View Regional Hospital, dispelled rumors that Mesquite’s hospital was sold. It and 37 other medical facilities around the company are being spun off by its parent corporation into a new company that focuses more on smaller hospitals. Photo by Barbara Ellestad.

Mesa View is the only hospital in Nevada that will be part of the new corporate structure. Hospitals in Oregon, California, Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico, in addition to Mesa View will comprise the western division of Quorum Health Corporation.

“We are excited about the prospect of being a part of an organization that will be fully focused on strategies designed to help hospitals like ours grow and thrive,” Holden added. “We believe affiliation with a company that is fully focused on the distinct opportunities and challenges of hospitals like ours will be beneficial for our patients and will position our hospital to successfully serve Mesquite and the surrounding areas in the future.”

The 25-bed facility opened in 2004 and now employs 200 people including 25 doctors with hospital privileges.

CHS purchased Mesa View in 2007 and Holden became the hospital’s CEO in 2012.

“We want everyone to know that they can continue to expect the same high-quality healthcare services and experience they count on now at Mesa View,” Holden said. “Care will be provided by the same physicians, nurses and employees that our patients already know and trust. Our name will remain the same and we will continue to participate in the same insurance plans that we accept today.”

Holden explained that the hospital is continuously recruiting for healthcare staff including primary care and specialty doctors. “We have a new Pediatric Physician Assistant starting in October. We also intend to expand services we now provide in OB-Gyn, Orthopedics, General Surgery and Wound Care.”

Mesa View is considered a ‘critical access’ hospital which affects how it’s paid by federal government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. “These insurance programs understand that it costs smaller hospitals like ours more to provide the services we do because we have less volume than larger hospitals. So we have different reimbursement rates from these programs.”

Holden remarked that “we are seeing an increase in the number of veterans using our hospital facilities under the Veterans Administration ‘Choice’ program. That’s a good thing because our local vets don’t have to travel all the way to Las Vegas to have certain procedures and tests done.”

The Choice program gives veterans living more than 40 miles from a VA hospital or clinic the opportunity to use local medical facilities upon VA approval.

She also said that the new corporate structure will not affect the hospital’s operations and patient services under the Affordable Care Act.