Posted on: Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Doctors will bid for St. Francis hospitals

By Deborah Adamson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Members of two local Filipino doctors groups have decided to make a bid for the two St. Francis hospitals on O'ahu.

"We are going to bid, but we're not yet sure how much" the bid will be until an evaluation of the hospitals is completed, said Dr. Danelo Canete, who is heading the effort by the Philippine Medical Association of Hawaii and Hawaii Filipino Healthcare in partnership with Cardiovascular Hospitals of America in Wichita, Kan.

The doctors also are looking outside the Filipino community. The Hawaii Independent Physicians Association is interested in becoming a a partner, he said.

Nearly half of its 683 members have admitting privileges at the St. Francis hospitals.

"We're waiting to see what the business proposition will be," said William Donahue, the group's executive director.

In February, St. Francis Healthcare System said it was exploring the sale of its two acute-care hospitals. The facilities have been struggling because of rising costs.

St. Francis also is considering joint ventures and other business relationships.

There are three parties interested in acquiring the hospitals: Queens' Health Systems, Hawaii Pacific Health — the operator of Straub Clinic and Hospital, Wilcox Health and Kapiolani Health — and the local doctors.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii withdrew its bid.

"We decided not to submit a bid for the assets of St. Francis," said spokeswoman Lynn Kenton. "Kaiser examined all the assets and did a walk-through. It just wasn't quite consistent with what our plans are for the future. At this point, it wouldn't benefit us to submit a bid."

So far, the fate of the two hospitals hasn't been decided.

"No decisions have been made. We continue to study a number of options," said Teri Tanaka, a spokeswoman for St. Francis.

Reach Deborah Adamson at dadamson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8088.