You may have noticed some unfamiliar faces around the hospital lately. I’d like to tell you who they are.

Following the September 10 announcement of Essent Healthcare as the purchaser of Brown County General Hospital, the two organizations have moved into what you may have heard referred to as the “due diligence” phase. Due diligence refers to the period during which buyers and sellers make sure they have all the information they need to proceed with the transaction. (To put it in informal terms, it is the engagement period before the formal wedding ceremony.)

Representatives from Essent (lawyers, hospital operators, financial experts and accountants) will conduct the due diligence process by gathering key documents and interviewing many members of the management team. During this process, they are looking for information on financial operations (i.e. accounting methods), marketing (i.e. sales strategies), personnel (i.e. payroll procedures), property & equipment (i.e. leases), and business operations (i.e. vendors) to make sure that all the facts regarding the seller (Brown County Hospital) are available and have been independently verified.

At the same time, Brown County is making final determination to ensure Essent is the right partner for the hospital.

While there is no industry-set timeframe for the due diligence phase, it is expected to take another two to three weeks to complete.