On August 14, Kyle Benoit, MHA, FACHE, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer for Bayhealth Medical Center, sent a letter to the Delaware Health Care Commission, questioning an application from ChristianaCare to build two “microhospitals” in lower Delaware. Since that letter was sent, TidalHealth and Beebe have joined Bayhealth with concerns.
“Each application seeks approval for what is described as a “microhospital,” Benoit said. “Specifically, the “microhospital” will consist of eight (8) emergency department beds and eight (8) inpatient beds intended for short-stay and community-based hospitalizations. However, ChristianaCare is unable to meet the regulatory and accreditation criteria referenced in the application as it does not exist. Delaware law contains no statutory definition of a “microhospital” nor do the Certificate of Public Review statutes or regulations establish the legal characteristics, scope of services, licensure status or operational standards applicable to such a facility.”
In addition to the lack of “microhospital” guidelines in Delaware code, Bayhealth also questioned ChristianaCare’s compliance with Delaware law. The ownership and governance of the proposed microhospitals would be a joint venture ChristianaCare and Emerus.
“As the Board is aware, the General Assembly recently enacted legislation intended to preserve Delaware’s longstanding policy that hospitals operate as nonprofit entities,” Benoit said. “Publicly available information indicates that the proposed facilities in Camden and Georgetown involve a joint venture with Emerus a for-profit entity possessing a 49 percent ownership interest and governance rights.”
Bayhealth asked the board to determine whether an application for a microhospital may be deemed complete since Delaware law contains no legal definition of that type of facility; require production of all governing ownership, operating, management and control agreements necessary to evaluate compliance with Delaware law; determine whether the proposed ownership and governance structure complies with the statutory requirements applicable to hospitals operating in Delaware; and to defer further substantive review until these thresholds legal issues have been resolved.
Soon after Bayhealth announced their opposition to the project, which would bring the health campuses to Camden and Georgetown, TidalHealth, which operates TitalHealth Nanticoke Services, and Beebe Healthcare also submitted letters of opposition to the board. ChristianaCare defends the projects as a way to bring accessible, high-quality care to a growing and aging population in southern Delaware.
A public hearing has been scheduled on October 20, 2026, at 1 PM. The hearing is available both virtually and in person. The physical location of the hearing is the Herman M. Holloway Sr. Campus of DHSS, 1901 North Dupont Highway, New Castle DE 19720. The link to the virtual meeting can be found on the DHSS website.
