TAFT, Calif. -- The Westside Healthcare District has completed the purchase of an abandoned hospital site that has been out of operation for almost six years.

In a deal that just closed escrow this week, the district bought the site from Catholic Healthcare West for $1.175 million, according to district vice-president Eric Cooper.

The purchase comes after officials tried to get the district to manage the hospital as an investment group tried to purchase the site as part of a larger development earlier this year.

Another potential sale, between CHW and Valley Medical Group of southwest Bakersfield, also fell through.

District officials balked at that offer, only to end up purchasing the site, which will allow them to move urgent care services, which are currently in an office suite down the street from the site, into a substantially larger facility.

The district intends to move the urgent care into the new site by January 1st, 2010.