Country on hold

Uncertain future for children’s rehab in St. Veit

The rehabilitation clinic for children and adolescents with cancer in St. Veit opened in 2018.(Bild: Gerhard Schiel)

Now that Vamed has sold most of its rehab clinics, there are also question marks over the children's cancer rehab in St. Veit. Regional clinics have a right of first refusal.

The healthcare group Vamed has recently stirred things up with the sale of its rehabilitation facilities in the Austrian healthcare sector. This week, the transfer of 70 percent of the shares to the French financial investor PAI was finalized. The sales talks also caused nervousness at Chiemseehof among the state government and the state hospitals (Salk).

This is because Vamed is also the majority owner of the new children's cancer rehabilitation center in St. Veit. Salk only holds 24 percent of the shares. In the course of the current sale of the rehabilitation facilities, the center in St. Veit was not yet affected. This is because - a major advantage for Salzburg - the regional company has a contractually fixed right of first refusal for the majority shares held by Vamed.

Entry of financial investor would be "closely examined"
Whether Vamed plans to sell its shares is still open. "This depends on various factors agreed in individual contracts," said the healthcare group in response to an inquiry from Krone. The Salk have not yet received any signals of a sale, confirms Health Minister Daniela Gutschi (ÖVP).

A six-week deadline for the Salk would only begin to run once a concrete offer had been made. For Gutschi, it is clear: "The state has an interest in securing the site." Whether the state would take over the shares itself would also depend on the potential partner. Gutschi does not rule out the entry of a financial investor in principle. "We would examine this very carefully," she says.