The Blount County (Tenn.) Commissioners approved a resolution, 11 to 5, that will allow Mayor Ed Mitchell to enter talks with Knoxville-based University of Tennessee Medical Center concerning the future of Blount Memorial Hospital, NBC affiliate WBIR reported March 22.

Spring Valley, Ill.-based St. Margaret's Health is in talks with a larger health system about a potential sale and has hired investment bankers to ensure it gets the most value out of a possible deal, Shaw Local News Network reported March 21.

A Harvard Business Review analysis of 42 hospital-leveraged buyouts from 2003 to 2017 urged policy discussions on private equity in healthcare to move beyond a "good" or "bad" framing.

As hospitals deal with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, some are exploring mergers with bigger systems, a move that the American Hospital Association says can "expand and preserve access to care.

Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic Health System has acquired Thompson Healthcare & Sports Medicine, which has more than 75 providers at 11 locations across central and southern New Jersey.

Billboards along California roadways are calling for more oversight of healthcare mergers, the Public News Service reported March 14. 

Tewksbury, Mass.-based Covenant Health has called off its plan to acquire Day Kimball Healthcare, a health system based in Putnam, Conn., The Connecticut News Project reported March 14.

Multiple proposals have been submitted by companies seeking to buy Singing River Health System, with the Jackson County Board of Supervisors setting a deadline of April 14 to select the best bid and begin negotiations with that group, according to the Sun Herald.

Syracuse, N.Y.-based SUNY Upstate University Hospital spent $10 million bringing in outside consultants to advise on the now-failed merger with Syracuse-based Crouse Health, syracuse.com reported March 13. 

The planned acquisition of Pueblo, Colo.-based Parkview Health System by UCHealth is now entering the public comment stage with a deadline for such comments of March 31, the Pagosa Daily Post reported March 13.

Pittsburgh-based UPMC has completed the acquisition of Sports Surgery Clinic, an independent hospital specializing in orthopedic surgery in Dublin, Ireland.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has issued subpoenas to Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health, its CEO Bill Gassen confirmed at a March 8 state Senate hearing. Mr. Ellison's investigation into Sanford's proposed merger with Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services has entered a new phase — one that requires sworn statements from certain individuals involved, MPR News reported. 

The long-awaited combination of Cambridge, Mass.-based Beth Israel Lahey Health and Exeter (N.H.) Health Resources has taken another step forward after a public meeting earlier this month, according to a March 7 report in The Salem News.

Ahead of their proposed merger, Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health have offered to return Minneapolis' east and west bank hospitals to the University of Minnesota — but the details of that transaction remain unclear, according to the Star Tribune. 

New Bern, N.C.-based CarolinaEast Health System is ending its partnership with Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health on March 31, the New Bern Sun Journal reported March 6.

Here are 12 major hospital and healthcare merger and acquisition-related transactions from February:

Clay Holderman, CEO of UnityPoint Health, and Dale Maxwell, CEO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services, had been talking for a while about seeking partnerships with other health systems when it finally dawned on them they should be talking to each other about a possible merger between their two organizations.

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services and West Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health are exploring the possibility of a merger that could result in an approximately $11 billion entity.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health has acquired four inpatient rehabilitation facilities from Dallas-based Everest Rehabilitation Hospitals.

Davenport, Iowa-based Genesis Health System is now part of MercyOne, the West Des Moines, Iowa-based subsidiary of Trinity Health.