Ailing CompCare of Irvine OKs Offer to Merge

The acquisition of Comprehensive Care Corp., the nation’s largest provider of hospital drug- and alcohol-treatment services, by First Hospital Corp. was approved Wednesday by shareholders of both companies.

At a special meeting to approve the $110-million deal, CompCare Chairman B. Lee Karns told shareholders that the Irvine-based company needs First Hospital’s management capability and access to capital.

The new company will be known as FHC-CompCare Inc. and will have headquarters in Virginia. It will employ 7,000 people, own $367 million in assets and generate about $311 million in annual revenue.

Dr. Ronald I. Dozoretz, First Hospital’s chairman, said he expects to gradually cure CompCare’s declining profits by eliminating CompCare’s $15-million annual media-advertising budget, emphasizing “hands-on” community marketing and offering a wider menu of treatment plans.

As part of the merger, Karns will step down as chairman and Dozoretz will serve as chairman and chief executive officer of the combined companies. Karns will serve as a member of FHC-CompCare’s board of directors.