Community Health Systems continues to reshape its hospital portfolio and an independent hospital in Maine is looking to join the state’s largest health system.
Here are four hospital M&A moves Becker’s reported during the week of Oct. 27:
1. Watertown, S.D.-based Prairie Lakes Healthcare System merged with Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health on Oct. 31.
The partnership includes financial investments in the Watertown community, according to the release. Over time, Prairie Lakes will transition to the Sanford Health name and brand while preserving and expanding health services across the communities it serves.
John Allen, Prairie Lakes Healthcare System president and CEO, will continue to lead the organization.
2. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems signed a definitive agreement Oct. 30 to sell its 80% ownership interest in two joint ventures — which own and operate Tennova Healthcare-Clarksville (Tenn.) — to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The $600 million deal includes the 270-bed hospital in Clarksville and ancillary businesses. Nashville-based VUMC, which already owns a minority interest in the joint ventures, will assume full ownership upon closing. The transaction is expected to finalize in early 2026, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
3. York (Maine) Hospital signed a letter of intent on Oct. 30 to join Portland-based MaineHealth, citing an increasingly challenging healthcare landscape.
Rising labor costs, escalating pharmaceutical and supply expenses, and increasing payer denials have forced the 79-bed independent nonprofit hospital to “review its options regarding its future.” York Hospital also does not qualify for federal safety-net programs such as the critical access hospital designation and the 340B drug pricing program.
The proposed merger is a multi-step process that may take more than a year to complete. Approvals are required from the state, including a certificate of need and a separate review by the Maine attorney general.
4. CHS signed a definitive agreement to sell Commonwealth Health — a three-hospital system headquartered in Scranton, Pa. — to Tenor Health Foundation.
The deal — contingent on Tenor securing funding — would see CHS exit the Pennsylvania market. CHS had previously planned to sell the hospitals to WoodBridge Healthcare for about $120 million but terminated that agreement in November.
If finalized, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending customary regulatory approvals.
