Prospect Medical Holdings, a for-profit hospital operator based in Los Angeles, is exploring an affiliation with Day Kimball Healthcare, a single-hospital system based in Putnam, Conn., according to the Hartford Business Journal.

The Connecticut Office of Health Strategy has approved Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare's acquisition of substantially all of the assets of St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn., from Ascension.

St. Louis-based SSM Health and Denver-based Paladina Health have created a joint venture that will offer direct-to-employer primary care to businesses in the St. Louis region.

The University of Louisville (Ky.) board approved a deal Aug. 14 to take over Jewish Hospital and KentuckyOne Health's other Louisville assets, which include three more hospitals and four outpatient centers, according to local news station WDRB.

The University of Louisville (Ky.) has returned to the negotiating table to buy the local Jewish Hospital and affiliated entities for $10 million, backed by a 20-year, $50 million loan from the state and $40 million from the Sts. Mary and Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, which obtained a draft of the deal.

The total number of healthcare mergers and acquisitions hit a record high in 2018, and dozens of deals have been announced so far this year.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho-based-based Kootenai Health has entered into a letter of intent to acquire two critical access hospitals from Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health.

A physician assistant has purchased Cumberland River Hospital in Celina, Tenn., which closed March 1, according to Nashville Public Radio.

Lexington, Ky.-based Appalachian Regional Healthcare acquired Highlands Regional Medical Center, a 192-bed hospital in Prestonsburg, Ky., on Aug. 1.

Phoenix-based Banner Health plans to acquire North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, which it has operated since 1995.

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems has completed the sale of College Station (Texas) Medical Center and Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon (Tenn.).

Butler (Pa.) Health System and Clarion (Pa.) Healthcare System have signed a definitive agreement to merge.

The total number of healthcare mergers and acquisitions hit a record high in 2018, and dozens of deals have been announced so far this year.

Gaithersburg, Md.-based Adventist HealthCare and Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., have signed a letter of intent to explore a partnership agreement.

Philadelphia-based Temple University has agreed to sell Fox Chase Cancer Center and its interest in Health Partners Plan to Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

The New Hanover County board of commissioners is considering selling New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., as the hospital's ability to continue operating independently becomes unclear, according to the Port City Daily.

In a move to expand its international presence, Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health has acquired a minority equity stake in a health system in Costa Rica.

Hospital merger and acquisition deal volume and spending was up year over year in the second quarter of 2019, but the pace of for-profit hospital divestitures is slowing, according to data from HealthCareMandA.com.

Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health is focusing on an integration plan after completing its merger with Bon Secours Health System, Ireland's largest private healthcare provider, based in Dublin.

Gaithersburg, Md.-based Adventist HealthCare has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fort Washington (Md.) Medical Center.