Saving Lives in Our Community, Because Prime Saved the Life of Our Hospital

“Prime Healthcare has demonstrated in a very short period of time how dedicated they are to preserving, advancing, and maintaining the hospitals they buy. In my community they have truly become a partner to our citizens and an integral part of the health care system in our state. I am very proud to be affiliated with this hospital company.” — Shaun Cournoyer Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Daniel Couture will never forget Christmas morning of 2013. This husband and father of two was rushed into Landmark Medical Center in the midst of – as he puts it – “a five alarm heart attack.” Little did he know that as the doors to the ER swung open, he was entering a STEMI emergency room, the only one in northern Rhode Island. After immediate catheterization and two stents, what might have been the worst day of Daniel’s life became the best day of his lifetime. “I still well up when I think about what Christmas would mean to my family, had I not been brought to Landmark,” he remembers. “They saved my life.”

If Landmark Medical Center had not been acquired by Prime Healthcare in 2013, the ambulance transporting Daniel might have been forced to drive many more miles, and Daniel’s story might not have ended so happily. Landmark had been in court-appointed receivership for five and a half long years. A prospective buyer had created hope for this beloved community hospital, but withdrew in the 11th hour, leaving Landmark and its 1,200 employees standing at the altar, with only enough capital to keep the doors open for two more weeks.

Enter Dr. Prem Reddy and Prime Healthcare, rescuing Landmark and the Rehabilitation Hospital of Rhode Island in dramatic fashion. About $7 million was required immediately to implement Prime’s acquisition. Another $5 million was needed to fund the hospital’s operations while under review by the Department of Health and the Attorney General’s office. Prior to the final sale – on pure faith – Dr. Reddy and Prime Healthcare invested even more capital in a hospital-wide telemetry system.

Right from the start, it was clear that Prime Healthcare’s commitment to Landmark was about more than money. Prime Healthcare knew that, after more than 140 years, Landmark had a vital connection to its patients, and the generations before them. They didn’t just understand the hospital’s role in the community, they understood the community itself: economically distressed, but hard working and proud.

In the three years since Prime Healthcare’s acquisition of Landmark Medical Center, the hospital has risen like a phoenix. Prime Healthcare has invested $30 million to date, creating a renewal that’s tangible. Our commitment to technology is attracting the brightest caregivers around. We were the first facility in the state to acquire the da Vinci Xi surgical robot, and it’s still the most advanced version in the state, even among many larger hospitals. We’ve recently opened the Landmark Wound Care Center, offering groundbreaking care in this critical area. Our new Cancer Care Center is state-of-the-art in every way. And our OB/GYN services have expanded considerably with the opening of a new facility, RI Women’s Health & Midwifery.

A few years back, when Landmark’s fate was uncertain, community members came out in numbers to express their support. They’re the reason we’re so proud to now return the good will, paying our fair share of property taxes to a city that was on the brink of insolvency. Today, Woonsocket, RI is returning to vitality, and we could not be more proud to be a part of it. After 140 years, it’s a new day.