Fachklinik Waldeck: redevelopment is fully on schedule

“The court's decision is an important vote of confidence in the course of reorganization taken by Fachklinik Waldeck,“ emphasizes Burkhard Jung, who has taken over the management of the clinic for the duration of the reorganization process. We can now start the reorganization prepared under the protective shield. Here the management remains in office and manages the reorganization itself (self-administration). “This will only be approved if the court is convinced of the management's concept and the creditors do not suffer any disadvantage as a result - both of which are the case here,“ added Jung, who is co-founder of the renowned restructuring consultancy “Restrukturierungspartner“.

During the past months, a number of important measures have already been implemented to reposition the clinic and overcome the aftermath of the Corona crisis. Thus, it has been possible to comprehensively stabilize the clinic's operations. “The first step was to consolidate all core areas of early neurological rehabilitation and the subsequent rehabilitation phases by combining them spatially and organizationally on initially four wards,“ explains the hospital manager of the specialist clinic Dietmar Eine. “We wer able to continue clinic operations without any interruption. And already these wards are almost fully occupied, so we are planning the next step: to expand by another ward.“ All services provided by Fachklinik Waldeck, in particular all inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services, were and will continue to be provided as usual.

Measures taken during the past three months include the optimization of procurement and the renewal of parts of the IT infrastructure. The focus, however, was on regaining the Waldeck specialist clinic‘s attractiveness for qualified staff. The clinic has advertised numerous new positions, both for medical staff and nursing staff. “We want to offer our patients the best possible care,“ says Dietmar Eine. “To be able to do that, we need the best medical and nursing staff we can get.“

To support this new policy, Fachklinik Waldeck had already announced at the beginning of the protective shield proceedings that it would significantly increase wages and salaries. Just under a week ago, the wage agreement with ver.di was finally signed and sealed. In particular the nursing staff will benefit from this agreement: from September 2021 on nurses will receive up to 17.4 percent more pay already in the first increase step. In addition, the hospital has applied to the medical association for a permit to further train residents in internal medicine again in the future. “The increase in compensation was an important signal for the future of the clinic,“ emphasized Silvia Fröhlich, chairwoman of the works council at the specialist clinic. “Other important steps are the restructuring of the nursing service or the upcoming first-time staffing of all wards with ward secretaries. All of our colleagues are highly committed to their work and are loyal to the hospital.“

The next milestone in the realignment process is the completion of the restructuring plan, the conceptual basis for further restructuring. Closely linked is the investor process, which is well advanced. The final round of negotiations is underway. Interest is high: three potential strategic investors are still in the running. Negotiations are taking place in close consultation with the administration and the creditors' committee. We still aim to complete the restructuring by the end of the year.

Protective shield proceedings are the best and most successful restructuring instrument under German restructuring law. In restructuring via protective shield proceedings, entrepreneurial responsibility remains in the hands of the management (self-administration). Insolvency law only allows this in cases where companies take action themselves at an early stage and there is sufficient room for maneuver to find a solution. Both are the case at Fachklinik Waldeck. The company is neither insolvent nor overindebted. In the case of protective shield proceedings, the competent district court appoints a so-called administrator. Similar to a supervisory board, the administrator monitors the proceedings in the interests of the creditors. The district court appointed the well-known restructuring expert Christoph Morgen of the law firm Brinkmann & Partner as the administrator of Fachklinik Waldeck, who had already monitored the restructuring as a temporary administrator.