Catholic group seeks arbitration in hospital sale

By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 8, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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A Catholic organization facing a lawsuit by the owners of two metro-area hospitals to block its takeover of the facilities plans to ask a judge to suspend the suit and order both sides into arbitration.

The hearing is expected Monday in Denver District Court.

The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System said Thursday that a favorable ruling by the judge would allow it to proceed with $300 million in improvements at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center in Wheat Ridge and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette.

Lutheran and Good Samaritan hospitals are jointly owned by Sisters of Charity, a Kansas Catholic nonprofit, and Community First Foundation, an Arvada nonprofit.

Community First intends to sell its 50 percent share to Sisters of Charity for $311 million.

"We are disappointed that we have been forced to take these steps, but we feel it is important to protect Exempla's hospitals from erosion of their assets and distraction from their mission to serve patients," said Bill Murray, Sisters of Charity president.

The Exempla board and other groups are opposed to the takeover by Sisters of Charity because medical staff at both facilities would have to follow Catholic ethical and religious directives, which ban abortions, vasectomies, tubal ligations and other forms of birth control, unless deemed medically necessary.

Doctors also would be restricted from removing feeding tubes from people in a persistent vegetative state.

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