Additionally, former chief executive Clint Matthews tried to raise about $200 million in cash early on in the pandemic through sale-leaseback agreements with a private equity real estate firm. This included $19 million for a medical office building for Chestnut Hill Hospital. As a result, any sale will include debt that the buyer must assume, and the leases run through at least 2035. This has been a sticking point for some potential contenders.

These financial challenges have cost Tower hundreds of millions in operating losses over the last four years and resulted in dwindling cash reserves, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. It recently had to close two of its Chester County hospitals, Jennersville and Brandywine, after a sale to an unproven for-profit, Canyon Atlantic, fell through last month. Jennersville already closed at the end of December, and Brandywine will do so at the end of January.


From July to September, Tower’s operating losses were at $16.75 million. Despite this, Chestnut Hill was slightly profitable on a cash-flow basis among the five community hospitals during these months.

“Tower Health continues to chart its future as we improve our operational and financial performance,” said the company. “We are moving forward with our strategic alliance with Penn Medicine and other strategic initiatives designed to strengthen our mission of service.”

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