Tenet’s sale of Alvarado is complete

Tenet Healthcare Corp. said Monday that it had completed the sale of a San Diego hospital that was accused of paying kickbacks to doctors in exchange for patient referrals.

Tenet said the 306-bed Alvarado Hospital Medical Center was sold to Plymouth Health of Sherman Oaks, completing a deal announced Oct. 27. Dallas-based Tenet said $22.5 million in pretax proceeds would be applied to general corporate purposes.

Tenet announced in May that it would sell Alvarado as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors in San Diego under which it paid $21 million in fines to settle kickback charges. The settlement came after two juries failed to reach a verdict in criminal trials.

Plymouth Health is a physician-owned company formed by the family of Pejman Salimpour and Pedram Salimpour, doctors who also own a physician services company called CareNex Health Services.

Tenet also has been selling hospitals in a restructuring move. It said Monday that it had completed the sale of seven of 13 hospitals planned for sale and that negotiations continued toward the sale of the six others.