There are concerns around the future of a West Island medical centre after the sudden closure last week of a pediatric clinic in Montreal owned by the same operator.
The Brunswick Medical Centre in Pointe-Claire provides care to 300,000 patients per year. It has 125 employees and is affiliated with 170 physicians.
The Brunswick Group, which has several entities under its umbrella, including the Brunswick Medical Centre, has filed for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, which is a federal law that allows for large organizations to restructure its finances to avoid bankruptcy.
Earlier this month, Quebec’s Superior Court appointed Ayman Chaaban, an insolvency trustee, to monitor the Brunswick Group’s finances.
Chaaban said there are two main reasons for the Brunswick Group’s financial woes.
One of them is the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a reduced number of patients visiting the clinic, which cut into its profits.
The other is a recent expansion project.
“They basically built a new tower at the Pointe-Claire facility that cost them a couple million dollars. They’re indebted to TD and the Business Development Bank of Canada for around $40 million,” Chaaban said.
“That debt load is significant and the revenues of the group were not sufficient to cover the payment of the debt.”
Despite the group’s financial troubles, Chaaban said there is a deal in place with another operator to buy the Brunswick Medical Centre.
“There’s a binding agreement. Everyone is working towards the final conditions. And we expect to go to court sometime next week or the week after to have the deal approved. So I’m very hopeful that that operator, that is a very well-known operator, will take over shortly,” Chaaban said.
Global News has learned that the potential buyer is ELNA Medical Group, one of the largest private health operators in the country.
Chaaban stressed that there should be no impact on the services provided at the Pointe-Claire clinic.
That is in stark contrast to the fate of another clinic owned and operated by the Brunswick Group.
Earlier in the week, the Brunswick Group announced the sudden closure of the Children’s Clinic based in the McGill University Health Centre on De Maisonneuve Boulevard.
The move shocked many parents, who wondered where their children’s doctors were going and where they would turn to for care.
The Children’s Clinic was devoted to a wide scope of vital medical care for kids since opening in 2015.
From general medicine to allergy specialists, endocrinologists and more, the sprawling clinic was a key resource and took up the entire second floor of 5100 de Maisonneuve.
Chabaan said the Brunswick Group filed for protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act in regards to the Children’s Clinic. Another trustee is appointed to that file.