Quorum in talks to sell four more hospitals

Just how small might Quorum Health be by the time its leaders have the company’s finances stabilized and trimmed its debt load to a manageable size? That still appears to be an open question.

Talking recently to analyst and investors on the heels of his team’s third-quarter results, CEO Bob Fish said Quorum is working on up to four hospital divestitures and could have those deals finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Brentwood-based Quorum finished September with 24 owned or leased hospitals and in the past three years has sold 12 properties and closed two. Combined, those facilities were licensed for 1,514 beds — a whopping 42 percent of the number with which Quorum started life when spun out of Community Health Systems in the spring of 2016.