HCA Healthcare's Capital Division today announced the completion of the purchase of Catholic Medical Center (CMC). CMC will officially join the HCA Healthcare family at midnight on Saturday, February 1, enhancing financial stability and the continuity of high-quality Catholic healthcare in Manchester. With shared values and mission, together, the two organizations will work to meet the growing demand for healthcare services and provide access to healthcare for patients and their providers close to home.

Building on HCA Healthcare's 40-year history in New Hampshire, HCA Healthcare will maintain CMC's Catholic identity while it becomes part of a four-hospital system that includes Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Frisbie Memorial Hospital, Parkland Medical Center and nearly 100 sites of care across the state.

The long-term health and well-being of Manchester and surrounding communities were priorities in CMC's decision to work with HCA Healthcare. This combination provides CMC with access to HCA Healthcare's capabilities, scale, and resources, which are focused on increasing access and delivering high-quality care for patients close to home.

“For more than 50 years, CMC has brought high-quality Catholic healthcare, healing and hope to the Granite State, and HCA Healthcare is proud to honor this legacy by working to keep essential and lifesaving care in Manchester for generations to come,” said Dr. William Lunn, HCA Healthcare's Capital Division president.

Overseen by the Bishop of Manchester and a local board of directors, more than $40 million in proceeds from the transaction will be used to create a new foundation, the Catholic Health Care Foundation of Greater Manchester, to serve the region and help support essential community charity programs like Health Care for the Homeless and the Poisson Dental Facility, continuing CMC's legacy of serving Manchester's most vulnerable populations.

HCA Healthcare's capital investments are designed to provide critical support and help stabilize and grow services at CMC in the coming years. Highlights from the Asset Purchase Agreement benefiting Manchester and New Hampshire patients include provisions relating to the following:

  • Maintaining CMC's Catholic identity in accordance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs).
  • A $200 million capital infusion over the next decade to help modernize infrastructure and expand clinical services, including the New England Heart & Vascular Institute and the emergency department.
  • Implementing HCA Healthcare's more expansive charity care and uninsured discount policies.
  • Making $2 million in contributions to community programs, including Health Care for the Homeless and the Poisson Dental Facility.
  • Addition of ten (10) Designated Receiving Facility (“DRF”) beds at HCA Healthcare's New Hampshire facilities.
  • Maintaining certain core services, including cardiovascular services and women's pregnancy services.

“With more than 35 years of my professional career spent caring for our patients at CMC, I am thrilled to join with HCA Healthcare to support our hospital's stability, growth and legacy in the community,” said Dr. Ben Westbrook, a leader in CMC's nationally recognized New England Heart and Vascular Institute and new CMC board member. “CMC has been providing Manchester patients with choice in care for more than 50 years, and joining HCA Healthcare strengthens our access to the resources we need to continue providing the high-quality care our community counts on.”

“HCA Healthcare is known for its commitment to quality patient care and its innovative approach to healthcare delivery, and CMC is better positioned to meet the needs of our patients and continue providing high-quality care close to home,” said John Skevington, CMC's new Chief Executive Officer.

HCA Healthcare and CMC entered exclusive discussions on September 27, 2023 and signed a definitive agreement on January 31, 2025. The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office's Department of Charitable Trusts and Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau approved the transaction on January 6, 2025.

Statement by the Most Reverend Peter A. Libasci, D.D., Bishop of Manchester

“If one were to read the Parable of The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37), one would recognize a great parallel: beaten by an insurmountable loss of revenue in a precarious environment and on the brink of total collapse, our Catholic hospital was passed by at our every call for help. HCA Healthcare reached out to us, worked with every aspect of those who could (and certainly did) provide the necessary assistance and then, worked to develop a plan to provide monetary investment to help Catholic Medical Center survive and thrive. One can only turn, then, to the closing words of that Parable: 'In your opinion, which one was neighbor to the robbers' victim?' He answered, 'The one who treated him with mercy.' Jesus said to him, 'Go and do likewise.' It will be up to each and every one of us to 'do likewise' by working with HCA Healthcare in witnessing to and maintaining CMC and its Catholic identity so that the hospital that was saved may thrive and ultimately glorify God through this healing ministry.”