Community for Profit
A series investigating Missoula’s private equity-funded hospital.
By Michael Cast
After being sold 10 years ago this month and going through a series of mergers, Missoula’s Community Medical Center, which had operated as a nonprofit for decades, became part of Lifepoint Health in 2018. Lifepoint is a large, for-profit healthcare chain owned by private-equity giant Apollo Global Management. Today, Community is one of 220 hospitals under Apollo’s umbrella.
This series, by freelance reporter Michael Cast, tells the story of the hospital’s transition from nonprofit to for-profit and what that’s meant for employees and patient care, especially in the years after the pandemic.
Over the course of months, Cast spoke to more than 20 current and former Community Medical Center employees who detailed concerns with the way the administration and Lifepoint ran the hospital. Their accounts reflect growing concern at the national level — including in the U.S. Senate — over private equity’s effects on the U.S. healthcare system.
January 2025
Part 1: Care on hold
An out-of-state transfer center is among troubling accounts from current and former employees at Missoula’s private equity-owned Community Medical Center.
Part 2: The selling of Community
A former vice president of Missoula’s Community Medical Center: “I don’t think ‘for profit’ and ‘healthcare’ belong in the same sentence.”
Part 3: Inside Community’s post-pandemic problems
“It’s profoundly sad,” a nurse said. “You don’t want the community to feel like they can’t come here and get good care.”
Part 4: Community’s next chapter
Do higher wages for nurses, a new CEO and a growing staff signal a bright future for Missoula’s private equity-owned Community Medical Center?
Community Medical Center named in U.S. Senate investigation’s report
As senators scrutinize the practices of hospitals owned by private equity firms, a new report includes the alleged sexual assaults of at least 15 female patients in Community Medical Center’s emergency department.
If you have questions about this series, please contact us at [email protected]
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