Three new health systems have launched under new brands this year after clearing their respective regulatory hurdles and closing conditions.
1. Black River Falls, Wis.-based Krohn Clinic, a multispecialty group, and Black River Memorial Hospital merged to create Black River Health. The merger came in response to growing healthcare challenges with Jackson County faring worse than the average county in Wisconsin for health outcomes.
A key tenet of the partnership is maintaining the independence of each organization while working as a unified entity, which will help the health system attract new providers, offer more specialties and expand access to care.
Black River Health leadership will be shared between Dr. Clark-Forsting, who was named chief physician executive, and Mr. Selvick, who was appointed CEO.
2. Elmira, N.Y.-based Arnot Health and Ithaca, N.Y.-based Cayuga Health System merged into a five-hospital system with more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
The combined entity, which now operates under the name Centralus Health, has more than 6,500 employees serving a nine-county region. Arnot and Cayuga's campuses and offices will retain their names.
Cayuga and Arnot are outsourcing their Epic implementations and both plan to go live with the EHR system in March.
The merger will expand access to a full spectrum of services, including critical cardiac care, cancer care, labor and delivery, outpatient care, behavioral health and emergency transportation. Centralus Health said it is committed to investing in capital improvements across its facilities and workforce.
3. Orange, Calif.-based Children's Hospital of Orange County and Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego merged to form Rady Children's Health, a three-hospital system.
The parties shared plans to merge in December 2023 after collaborating for more than a decade.
Both organizations entered the merger from positions of financial strength. Their shared vision focuses on improving outcomes in Southern California, accelerating research and innovation to develop new treatments, and attracting and retaining talent across all specialties. Additionally, the merger seeks to expand access to pediatric care, promote health equity, and train the next generation of pediatric physicians and other clinicians.
Kimberly Cripe, who served as president and CEO of CHOC, and Patrick Frias, MD, who served as president and CEO of Rady Children's, now serve as co-CEOs of Rady Children's Health.