After more than 18 months since signaling plans to combine, Boston Children's Hospital and Brighton, Mass.-based Franciscan Children's said they will close on an affiliation agreement July 1.

A new ownership group plans to buy and reopen Healthmark Regional Medical Center, a 50-bed hospital in Defuniak Springs, Fla., that closed in March 2022, mypanhandle.com reported June 28. 

Walgreens wants to close 300 Boots retail stores in the UK, about 14 percent of its portfolio there, according to a June 27 BBC News report.

Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine agreed to acquire the shuttered Coatesville, Pa.-based Brandywine Hospital from West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health, Philadelphia Business Journal reported June 27.

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed changes to the premerger notification form in addition to premerger notification rules implementing the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, which requires organizations to report large transactions to the FTC and Justice Department for antitrust review.

Pittsburgh-based UPMC is likely to face opposition from organized labor and federal regulators as it looks to finalize its merger with Washington (Pa.) Health System, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported June 25.

Health services deals have slowed some compared to surges in recent years, according to a midyear report from PWC.

The last few years have been wrought with change for hospitals and health systems amid increased consolidation and physician affiliation, according to a June 20 article in Health Affairs.

The boards of Washington (Pa.) Health System and Pittsburgh-based UPMC signed a letter of intent to negotiate a deal that would integrate WHS into UPMC. 

Irving, Texas-based Christus Health is planning to integrate a New Mexico hospital into its network, something that is raising concerns among healthcare staff and the local community, according to a June 19 Source NM report.

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health agreed to invest $50 million in Burgaw, N.C.-based Pender Medical Center and develop the facility into a community general hospital within the next five years.

Atlus Community Healthcare, a portfolio company of private equity firm ZT Corporate, acquired Exceptional Emergency Center, a system of 14 emergency rooms across Texas.

State regulators are set to consider Peoria, Ill.-based OSF Healthcare's application to purchase the shuttered St. Margaret's Health-Peru (Ill.) hospital Aug. 15, local news outlet WCBU reported June 1.

St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare and Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System, two financially stable organizations with their own strong brands, intend to form an integrated academic health system by the year's end. 

The long-awaited incorporation of Exeter (N.H.) Health Resources into Cambridge, Mass.-based Beth Israel Lahey Health has taken a major step forward after the New Hampshire attorney general's office agreed to the transaction.

Doylestown (Pa.) Health took a step closer to selling its Pine Run retirement community, with a Dec. 30 deadline to complete the transaction, according to a June 13 filing.

Many health system mergers today are "all about leverage" when negotiating with payers, rather than significant cost savings or increasing market share, Charlie Shields, CEO of Kansas City, Mo.-based University Health, told the Kansas City Business Journal.

Merger and acquisition transactions can often lead to job cuts, but that is not anticipated to be the case with Sayre, Pa.-based Guthrie Clinic's acquisition of the Our Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital system based in Binghamton, N.Y.

Here is a summary of hospital and healthcare merger and acquisition-related transactions from May:

Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Parkview Health System is to acquire Bryan, Ohio-based Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers, according to a June 8 filing.