Bidding for hospital ends at $1.5M

An auction for the former Memorial Hospital in suburban York closed out yesterday with a high bid of $1.5 million.

The top bidder was not disclosed. But the offer appeared to meet the bar set by the seller, Pittsburgh-based UPMC, with the auction site Ten-X registering the property as sold. Bidding opened Monday at $800,000.
UPMC deferred questions to the real estate firm that has been marketing the property, Lemoyne-based NAI CIR.
Robin Zellers, NAI CIR's president, declined to comment.

The background: The former hospital, shown above, has been on the market since 2019, when UPMC opened a new hospital in West Manchester Township.

UPMC acquired Memorial after it bought PinnacleHealthin 2017. The Harrisburg health system had purchased Memorial and three other Central PA facilities from Community Health Systems.
The nearly 12-acre tract at 325 Belmont St. in Spring Garden Township has attracted strong interest as a site for multifamily development.

Quick takes

WHAT SOLD: The wholesale alarm-monitoring assets of Lancaster-based Security Partners LLC. In a press release, New Jersey-based COPS Monitoring said it purchased the assets at an auction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Efforts to reach both companies were not successful. But in its press release, COPS said it is taking over monitoring for more than 100,000 accounts, bringing COPS' total to more than 3.5 million.

COPS monitors alarms on behalf of the dealers who sell them.
It's not clear if Security Partners remains active in that part of the business. But the company's website details other monitoring services that it offers, as well as additional services for alarm-system dealers

WHO’S FRANCHISING: Nexterus. The third-party logistics firm based in Shrewsbury started a franchise program at the end of 2018 and it is starting to bear fruit. Nexterus has a franchise in Atlanta and added another earlier this year in Houston. “We’re looking at it as a way to grow what we have been doing in the mid-Atlantic,” said Ryan Polakoff, COO of the family-owned company, which was founded 75 years ago in Baltimore. The company provides a range of supply-chain services, largely for manufacturing and retail.

Franchising a third-party logistics company is not like franchising a sandwich shop.
The recruitment process for Nexterus franchisees is highly personalized and the company’s model is adaptable to their needs, Polakoff said.
The pandemic slowed things down. But activity has been picking up this year, Polakoff said. About a half-dozen potential franchisees are in the company’s pipeline, he added.

The challenge: For the logistics industry, it is the capacity available to ship things.

“The market has never experienced capacity issues network-wide like they’re experiencing now, and the supply chain ripple effect is enormous,” Polakoff said.

WHO'S POLISHING THEIR IMAGES: Penn State Health. The regional health system based in Dauphin County has signed a 10-year, $110 million imaging-services contract with Siemens Healthineers. The goal is to provide enhanced diagnostic services, more precise and efficient imaging, and an optimal experience for patients, according to Penn State Health. Under the contract, which could grow in value, Penn State Health expects to replace 70% of its imaging equipment.

"Technologies that Siemens has embedded in their tools will provide better access and higher quality imaging services -- including some driven by artificial intelligence -- throughout our network," said Richard Bagley, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer at Penn State Health.
Examples include a so-called virtual cockpit that allows remote operation of imaging equipment, added Dr. Timothy Mosher, chair of the radiology department at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Derry Township.
"A patient at Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center will be able to undergo a scan there that is actually guided by a clinician at Hershey Medical Center," Mosher said. "This capability is especially important for a health system such as ours with an expanding geographic footprint."

The background: In addition to its flagship campus in Hershey, Penn State Health operates a hospital and other facilities in Berks County and Holy Spirit Medical Center in Cumberland County.

The health system is adding two new hospitals, in Cumberland and Lancaster counties.

WHO'S MAKING MATCHES: Tröegs Independent Brewing, a Derry Township-based beer maker, and Unique Snacks, based in Reading. The two family-owned companies have come up with matches between Tröegs' beers and Unique's pretzel products. The pairs include Perpetual IPA with Original Splits and Sunshine Pilsner with Pretzel Shells. The products will be sold together between Aug. 30 and Oct 31 at pop-up displays demonstrating which beers go with which pretzels.

Participating retailers in the promotion, dubbed "Better Together," include The Giant Co., a grocery chain based in Cumberland County, according to a spokesperson.

Another round: Tröegs has replaced Adamstown-based Stoudts Brewing Co. as the maker of house beers for McGillin's Olde Ale House, billed as Philadelphia's oldest continuously operating tavern.

Tröegs is making three beers for McGillin's, a lager, a real ale and an IPA, according to a press release from McGillin's, which first opened its doors in 1860.
Stoudts Brewing closed last year following the retirement of its brew master, Carol Stoudt.

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Compiled and written by Joel Berg