Six months after signing a letter of intent, Saints Medical Center in Lowell, Mass., has pulled out of a deal to be acquired by Steward Health Care System and is instead planning to merge with cross-town rival Lowell General Hospital, according to a Boston Globe report.
Saints and Steward have released a statement that they “mutually decided to end discussions,” according to the report. Shortly after that statement’s release, Saints and Lowell said they had agreed to a memorandum of understanding to affiliate.
Some physicians affiliated with the non-profit Saints had objected to the alliance with Boston-based, for-profit Steward. The systems had signed a letter of intent in April and an asset purchase agreement in July.
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