The era of The Villages Health has officially come to an end as the CenterWell Senior Primary Care rebranding has begun here in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
The signs at the various clinics throughout The Villages are expected to be changed out this month and next month.
Last year, the more than 55,000 patients at The Villages Health were shocked by news of the sudden bankruptcy of The Villages Health linked to a still-mysterious “erroneous Medicare coding” problem estimated at about $360 million. For months, a court battle has been waged with accusations flying that that Morse family had wrung tens of millions of dollars out of The Villages Health ahead of the bankruptcy and $68 million sale to Humana’s Center Well.
The Villages Health CEO Bobby Trinh was paid a $200,000 “retention bonus” the day before the bankruptcy announcement. According to The Villages Health website, which is presumably in the process of transferring over to CenterWell, Trinh, who lives in a $1.3 million house at Middleton, is still at the helm.
However, Elliot Sussman, who brought the idea of “Marcus Welby”-style care to The Villages more than 15 years ago, is apparently out. Sussman, who still owns a home in The Villages, also helped coin the mantra, “America’s Healthiest Hometown.”
The Developer recently offered to pay $80 million to satisfy claims in the lingering bankruptcy case of The Villages Health. The Developer is said to be eager to close the book on this venture into health care.