Officials with Foresight Hospital and Health Systems declined to provide a copy of a spreadsheet detailing the company’s expenses for the hospital project. Joe Hylak-Reinholtz, CFO and general counsel for Foresight, said the spreadsheet is among the documents included in a nondisclosure agreement (NDA).
Dr. Sameer Suhail M.D., the owner of Foresight referred comments to Hylak-Reinholtz.
The spreadsheet was referenced in emails last year between the company, county officials and others.
Meanwhile, the county’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) is working towards conducting an environmental study at the former hospital site, according to a release from the county.
The county is in the process of applying for a Brownfield planning grant and Brownfield grant extension to pay for the study.
A brownfield is a property, “such as the former hospital site,” which would pose “unique challenges due to hazardous materials, pollution, or contaminants. It is standard practice when a locality is approached about purchasing one of these properties that due diligence, including environmental studies, are conducted to inform any potential redevelopment or reuse efforts,” the release stated.
“Localities can also perform these studies with the permission of the property owner if they don’t intend to purchase the property, and provide these studies to a prospective buyer as a recruitment tool,” it added.
The need for an environmental study also was “to better understand Patrick County’s financial risk,” County Administrator Beth Simms wrote in a Nov. 17 email to Suhail, who also is CEO/Clinical Dean of American International Clinical Group & CEO Psychiatric Group Metropolitan Behavior Associates, both based in Chicago.
“Please confirm that we and our vendor are granted access to this privately owned property and provide a key so we can proceed,” Simms wrote to Suhail. Other recipients included in the thread of correspondence were Hylak-Reinholtz; Del. Wren Williams; Stuart Town Manager Bryce Simmons, Pat Cooper, economic development director and Ron Haley, who serves on the EDA Board.
In a Dec. 21 email to Simms, Suhail asked, “Any traction on EDA taking over the property before the end of the year? Let me if it’s a possibility and we can negotiate some sort of payment plan if possible – I wanted to get some tax reductions this year, that’s the reason I wanted to do the deal in 2023.”
“No, as explained on the phone, the EDA is in the process of applying for a Brownfield planning grant and Brownfield grant extension,” Simms replied,
Foresight officials were negotiating with the county on a proposed donation of the hospital property. In exchange, the county was asked to pay $815,000, which is a fraction of the amount spent by Foresight, according to previous reports.
Once it was announced that the hospital would not reopen as planned, county officials said they were working to develop a Healthcare Access Committee and a Mobile Healthcare Unit, and identified healthcare access as a top priority, according to a release.
“The lack of a hospital is negatively impacting our EMS services and leading to a decline in volunteerism due to the required length of rescue calls. We are committed to working with local, regional, state, and federal programs to mitigate these issues to the best of our ability,” the release stated.
“We are extremely grateful to Connect Health + Wellness for bringing their Mobile Clinic to the Walmart in Stuart on a weekly basis this month and strongly encourage citizens to take advantage of this opportunity,” a release from the county stated. “We also want to thank the other healthcare providers who have reached out and we have had the opportunity to talk to since the announcement of the hospital not reopening.”
