Funds secured for new Cork hospital

I posted a recent media release about Sheehan Medical’s new private hospital in Chicago here http://www.republicpr.ie/2010/02/07/sheehan-family-launches-50m-clinic-partnership-loyola-university/ last week on the day the story appeared in The Sunday Times. Here is another article on the project that also covers their new Irish project in Cork. The article appeared yesterday in The Sunday Business Post. I have copied the article in below, but a link to the original source is here:http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/funds-secured-for-new-cork-hospital-47396.html

THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST - Funds secured for new Cork hospital

14 February 2010 By Susan Mitchell

The developer of a new private hospital in Cork has secured loans of €30 million to complete the fit-out of the project. Bank of Ireland provided most of the funding to Cleary Developments, which is building the facility at the City Gate Medical campus in Mahon. It will be operated by Sheehan Medical, the hospital operator which has interests in the Blackrock and Galway clinics.

James Sheehan, chief executive of Sheehan Medical, said the banks had been encouraged by the number of doctors that had invested in the Cork hospital.

He said that 12 doctors have taken equity in the project, and another 40 doctors had signed contracts to take suites. Sheehan said that there had been a lot of interest from Irish doctors living overseas who wanted to return home but could not get public consultancy posts. He said that he expected the hospital to stimulate competition in the south of the country, where its main rival is the Bon Secours.

Sheehan Medical planned to undercut prices at the Bon Secours by 10-15 per cent, said Sheehan. A recent decision by the Health Service Executive to close 1,000 beds would also have a direct impact on the private sector, he said.

‘‘Many of those patients will feed into the private sector. You can not stop the flow of patients,” Sheehan said. He said he was not concerned about the impact that lower reimbursement rates from health insurer VHI would have on the hospital’s business model.

‘‘I think the VHI will welcome our arrival. We haven’t begun negotiations with them, but the net effect will be a reduction in the cost of healthcare in the south,” he said.

Sheehan said the cost of the Cork project had dropped from a projected €90 million to €75 million due to a fall in fit-out costs.

The hospital will have 75 in-patient beds, 20 out-patient beds, four operating theatres and a day surgery centre. More than 350 jobs will be created to run the hospital, and Sheehan Medical has a deal with Loyola University Health System, which will manage a number of services at the hospital. Sheehan Medical is also developing a $50 million (€36.8 million) hospital in Chicago in conjunction with Loyola.

Ends