A letter of intent has been signed by both Tower Health and Penn Medicine for the purchase of the shuttered Brandywine Hospital in Coatesville, writes Ryan Sharrow for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The 85-acre campus was closed on Jan. 31, 2022 in an effort to relieve Tower Health’s financial struggles as it remains with over $1 billion in debt. The health system will still operate Reading Hospital in West Reading and Phoenixville Hospital, among its other two. Meanwhile, Penn Medicine reported an operating profit of $103.6 million for the first half of fiscal 2023.

Currently, Penn’s plans for the hospital are unclear, but the sale will go through by the end of the year.

Penn and Tower Health had aimed to enter into a “strategic alliance” earlier in 2023, but plans have since halted and are no longer being pursued as of February.

Regardless, Tower Health’s CEO P. Sue Perrotty called this acquisition “a positive outcome,” and Chester County Commissioners agree.

“We are pleased that Tower Health has agreed to sell the former Brandywine Hospital to Penn Medicine. Penn Medicine already provides top hospital and healthcare services in Chester County, and the expansion of that investment to the Coatesville and surrounding area is tremendous news – and certainly cause to celebrate! As Penn Medicine completes their due diligence, we will support their efforts in reimagining healthcare access to everyone in Western Chester County.

“From the time Tower Health closed Brandywine and Jennersville Hospitals 18 months ago, we have focused on replacing the lost services with better services, to provide greater care for southern and western Chester County residents. We were pleased to be part of the group that helped to facilitate a partnership between Penn Medicine and the Coatesville VA Medical Center that has led to the move by Penn Medicine to buy Brandywine Hospital from Tower Health. 

“This outcome could not have been accomplished without partnerships – and persistence – at the state and federal level; tremendous support by our EMTs and other stakeholders, and our other hospitals in the county that have worked continuously since the closures to make sure that all health needs, including mental health needs, are met,” said Commissioners Marian Moskowitz, Josh Maxwell, and Michelle Kichline in a statement.

Read more about the acquisition in the Philadelphia Business Journal.