PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A $29 million loan will ensure operations continue at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, and that 2,500 hospital employees get paid for the next 30 days. It’s a DIP loan from a private investor, which is a type of financing that allows Prospect Medical Holdings to continue operating. This comes after Prospect, the company that owns both Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Texas on Jan. 12. Lynn Blais, the president of United Nurses and Allied Professionals, a union representing about 1,000 employees, said elective surgeries are being cancelled. “Because vendors won’t provide the supplies needed,” Blais said. “So orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, cases, patients that need this surgery can’t get it done because vendors are afraid they’re not going to get paid for the equipment and supplies.” Prospect has been working to sell the two hospitals to non-profit Centurion, which the union has opposed in the past. “We didn’t think it was the right business model but at this point if we can get the Centurion deal to go through and it fails then at least we have control in our state courts of a receivership versus being at the mercy of Texas on what happens to our hospitals,” Blais said. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office will represent Rhode Islanders in federal bankruptcy court in Dallas. The next hearing is set for Feb. 12th. Governor Dan McKee addressed the possible sale during Tuesday’s State of the State. “It is our hope that Prospect is able to carve out their Rhode Island facilities from their restructuring plans and get this deal done,” McKee said. “We are committed to ensuring the hospitals get new ownership.” However, Blais said the deal needs to come with some upgrades. “They put limitations and restrictions and conditions on the sale to Centurion and those conditions still need to be met,” Blais said. “We have infrastructure that needs to be fixed, roofs that are leaking, equipment that needs to be done, upgrading and IT and all of that kind of stuff.” Also according to Blais, a private investor would be willing give a loan as big as $29 million because it puts them at the top of the list for reimbursement when Prospect emerges from bankruptcy, on top of an extra $5 million in fees. Categories: News, Providence, Rhode Island