Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine Children's Hospital is forming an affiliation with WVU Medicine Wheeling (W.Va.) Hospital and Glen Dale, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine Reynolds Memorial Hospital to enhance care in the area for children, WVNews reported Oct. 15.

East Orange (N.J.) General Hospital will be acquired by its new for-profit operating company, EOH Acquisition Group, led by hospital CEO Paige Dworak, New Jersey Business Magazine reported Oct. 15.

Eleven transactions involving hospitals and health systems have been announced, finalized or advanced since Oct. 1:

Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Charlesbank Capital Partners completed their acquisition of MDVIP, a national network of 1,100 primary care physicians. 

Boston Children's Hospital hopes to enhance mental healthcare services by acquiring Brighton, Mass.-based Franciscan Children's Hospital, the organizations announced Oct. 12. 

Dickinson County Healthcare, a single-hospital system with several clinics based in Iron Mountain, Mich., plans to join Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System. 

St. Louis-based SSM Health has abandoned its plan to sell a Missouri hospital to Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health, according to the News Tribune.

VMG Health, the market leader in providing full-service healthcare advisory, consulting and transaction related services, is pleased to announce it is expanding services in the advisory division to support clients’ ever evolving needs.

Citing underperformance and "untenable" status quo, one of the largest investors in Healthcare Trust of America urged the company to launch a strategic review and explore a potential sale of its real estate trust. 

The percentage of hospitals financially subsidizing their anesthesia groups has been reported in excess of 80% for many years and is expected to rise even more.

Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare received approval from the state to acquire a majority ownership stake in Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare's long-term care hospital in Peoria.

Irving, Texas-based Christus Health and Texas A&M University College of Medicine signed a new affiliation agreement that will help Northern Texas recruit and train more physicians. 

Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has sold five Georgia hospitals since August. 

As antitrust enforcement in the U.S. comes under scrutiny, the American Hospital Association and 21 other organizations are urging Congress to avoid large changes to the legal and regulatory framework for evaluating mergers and acquisitions, arguing that, even with current regulations, the government wins in most instances. 

Since Sept. 1, several mergers and acquisitions have taken place by U.S. health systems.

Although there were fewer merger and acquisition deals announced in the third quarter, the total transacted revenue and average seller size by revenue was higher, according to a recent analysis from healthcare consultant Kaufman Hall. 

An October study by Health Affairs found that while mergers and acquisitions may provide more financial stability to hospitals, they also often cut less profitable service lines like maternal, neonatal and surgical care, potentially harming rural residents.

The American Hospital Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges jointly filed a "friend of court" brief in the U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., in favor of Hackensack Meridian Health's proposed acquisition of Englewood (N.J.) Health, northjersey.com reported Oct. 5.

Mackinac Straits Health System will enter a formal affiliation agreement with MidMichigan Health that will address its technology and EMR needs, the organizations said Oct. 5. 

More than three years after signing a letter of intent to merge, Jefferson Health and Einstein Healthcare Network have finalized the deal.