Guide for closing facilities

Hospital closure equipment sale timeline.

What to do from the day a closure becomes likely to the day the last scanner leaves, so high-value equipment is sold for what it is worth instead of going out with the furniture.

Short version. Inventory and pull service records first. Separate imaging and OR equipment from the general auction. List those systems 60 to 90 days before closing, verify buyers and hold their funds in escrow, then schedule de-installation, data wipes and state radiation notices before removal.

Why timing decides what you recover

Closures run on fixed dates. Some states require advance notice before a hospital closes: Massachusetts requires 120 days under a Department of Public Health regulation, and Pennsylvania required 90 days as of 2023, with a bill proposed to extend it to six months. Rural closures are not rare: the Sheps Center counts 197 rural hospital closures and conversions since 2005.

The equipment with the most value is also the slowest to sell. A CT or MRI goes to a small pool of buyers who must arrange rigging, sometimes open a wall, and plan installation at their own site. Hospital equipment moves are planned months ahead; one large imaging move took engineers months of review and took systems offline about two weeks before the move itself. If the sale starts late, the only buyer left is whoever is in the room on auction day.

120 days out, or as soon as closure is likely

  • Inventory what is worth selling on its own. Imaging (CT, MRI, PET/CT, cath lab, C-arms, ultrasound), OR suites, endoscopy towers, anesthesia machines and dental systems. Note make, model, year and location.
  • Confirm ownership. Leased equipment goes back to the lessor; financed equipment may need a lien release before sale.
  • Pull service records and, for imaging, CT tube usage and MRI helium level. These drive price more than age does.
  • Check OEM service contracts for notice periods and de-installation terms.

90 days out: value and choose the channel per item

Get a value range for each high-value item and decide where each one goes. Auctions charge a commission and add a buyer premium; OEM trade-in credit only applies toward that manufacturer’s new equipment, which a closing facility will not buy. Selling directly to the buyer who needs a specific system usually recovers the most, if the payment risk is handled.

60 to 90 days out: list, verify buyers, hold funds

  • List the high-value lots with documentation. Buyers pay more when they can see service history.
  • Verify buyers before site visits: identity, funds, insurance, and the rigger they will use.
  • Hold the purchase price in escrow with a licensed escrow provider before you schedule removal, released after the buyer inspects against the listing.

30 to 60 days out: plan de-installation

  • MRI: book a planned ramp-down by a qualified engineer. A planned ramp-down takes hours to days. Do not let the magnet quench: refilling a 1.5T magnet can cost $30,000 to $40,000, and buyers price that in.
  • Rigging paths: confirm door widths, elevator capacity and whether a wall or window must be opened. Agree who pays for building work before funds go into escrow.
  • Facilities access: set removal dates that fit your vacate deadline and any building shutdown.

Final 30 days: data, paperwork, removal

  • Wipe patient data from every device that stores it, to NIST 800-88, and keep the certificate.
  • File state radiation notices for x-ray equipment leaving your registration. Minnesota requires notice within 15 days of a sale or transfer; Kansas uses an X-Ray Machine Status Form for sold, transferred or scrapped units. Check your own state program.
  • Removal and inspection. An insured rigger removes the equipment, the buyer inspects it, and escrow releases the funds.
  • Auction the rest once the high-value lots are out.

After the last truck leaves

Close each sale with a recovery report for finance: sale price, costs, net recovered and the book value it replaced. Creditors, boards and auditors will ask.

Questions

How early should a closing hospital start planning equipment sales?

As soon as closure is likely, and before the public notice period starts if possible. Some states require 90 to 120 days of notice before a hospital closes, and high-value imaging and OR equipment usually needs most of that window to value, sell, de-install and remove.

Should imaging equipment go to auction with everything else?

Usually not. CT, MRI, cath lab and full OR suites sell to a small number of qualified buyers who need time to arrange rigging and installation. Selling them as separate lots ahead of the auction tends to recover more, while furniture and small devices can still go to auction.

Can an MRI just be switched off when the hospital closes?

No. A superconducting MRI should be ramped down in a planned way over hours to days by a qualified engineer. An unplanned quench boils off the liquid helium; refilling a 1.5T magnet can cost $30,000 to $40,000, which buyers will price in.

Do we have to tell the state when x-ray equipment leaves?

In most states, yes. Radiation control programs track registered x-ray equipment. Minnesota, for example, requires notice within 15 days of a sale or transfer, and Kansas uses an X-Ray Machine Status Form for sold, transferred or scrapped units. Check your state program before removal.

Sources

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Closing or relocating? Start the high-value sales first.

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