U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Ernest Robles has given the OK for Santa Ana Calif.-based KPC Group to acquire four hospitals from nonprofit hospital chain Verity Health, KPC Group announced.

In the1990s, healthcare systems merged at unsustainable rates. Today, with dropping inpatient volumes, systems are exploring multiple ways to stay relevant, such as entering the outpatient space, rethinking partnerships and expanding access to care through technology.

In the first quarter of 2019, the quarterly volume of announced acute care hospital merger and acquisition activity reached its lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2009, according to an analysis by Ponder & Co.

Ripley, W. Va.-based Jackson General Hospital is set to be the fifth hospital to join the West Virginia University Health System in two years, according to WVMetroNews.com.

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

Fort Bragg, Calif.-based Mendocino Coast District Hospital's board of directors will seek a potential lease or sale, the hospital's interim CEO said April 11, according to the Fort Bragg Advocate-News.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health has completed the sale of Scenic Mountain Medical Center, a 146-bed hospital in Big Spring, Texas, to Dallas-based Steward Health Care. 

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health signed a memorandum of understanding to build an academic healthcare system with Wake Forest Baptist Health and Wake Forest University, both in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Thorek Memorial Hospital in Chicago has filed an application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to buy a hospital located just a few miles away, according to the Chicago Tribune.

LaGrangeville, N.Y.-based Health Quest and Danbury-based Western Connecticut Health Network have combined to form a new nonprofit health system called Nuvance Health.

Advocate Aurora Health has assumed full ownership of Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette, Wis.

University of Louisville (Ky.) is extending its timeline to find a joint-venture partner to purchase and operate KentuckyOne facilities based in Louisville, including Jewish Hospital, after an initial request for proposals did not result in potential partnerships, according to the Courier Journal. 

  Cumberland, Md.-based Western Maryland Health System has signed a nonbinding letter of intent with Pittsburgh-based UPMC to pursue a merger.

Community Health Systems signed a definitive agreement to sell Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon (Tenn.) to Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

  Lansing, Mich.-based Sparrow Health System and Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor have signed an affiliation agreement that will pave the way for collaboration between the organizations.

Henry Ford Health System and Wayne State University, both based in Detroit, are no longer in affiliation talks, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

Milford (Conn.) Hospital entered merger talks with Bridgeport (Conn.) Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, last year. This week, state lawmakers said the future of Milford Hospital depends on the deal closing, according to Patch.

  Two hospitals owned by Centennial, Colo.-based Centura Health are now members of the MD Anderson Cancer Network, according to The Pueblo Chieftain.

A Maine judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to stop the merger of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine-based Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health in Brewer, Maine, according to The Piscataquis Observer.

Elizabeth, N.J.-based Trinitas Regional Medical Center and Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health System in West Orange, N.J., are discussing a merger, according to tapinto.net.