From an Oregon hospital aiming to fast-track a merge to avoid insolvency, to a Tennessee health system planning a sale to Ascension, here are four hospital M&A moves Becker’s reported during the week of July 6:
1. Minot, N.D.-based Trinity Health announced July 9 that it is exploring a strategic integration or partnership with a larger national or regional health system. The system said that rising costs to deliver care, combined with reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payers that fail to cover those costs, are driving the review.
The health system has hired a national consulting firm and formed a committee to lead the process. Trinity Health said it is evaluating options that would preserve local access to care, fund investment in its facilities, support staff recruitment and retention, and maintain local input into how the system operates. Trinity Health said this marks the first step in the process and that no final decisions have been made.
2. Stayton, Ore.-based Santiam Hospital & Clinics warned that it faces “imminent insolvency” without expedited state approval of its proposed partnership with Salem (Ore.) Health Hospitals & Clinics. The two nonprofit organizations have filed an emergency exemption request with the Oregon Health Authority’s Health Care Market Oversight program, arguing that Santiam’s financial condition has deteriorated rapidly since the organizations signed a definitive partnership agreement in January. Santiam said it chose Salem Health as a partner to “avoid insolvency.”
Santiam, a 40-bed nonprofit community hospital, said it has fewer days cash on hand than Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay had when it received a $44 million state-backed financial lifeline from the Oregon Legislature. The health systems have asked the state to come to a decision by Aug. 1.
3. Farmington, Conn.-based UConn Health plans to seek state approval to integrate Bristol (Conn.) Hospital and Putnam, Conn.-based Day Kimball Hospital into the UConn Health Community Network.
Following the required public notice period, UConn Health Community Network said it expects to submit a certificate-of-need application to the Connecticut Department of Public Health. If approved, Bristol Hospital and Day Kimball Hospital would join UConn Health Waterbury Hospital in the network while continuing to provide care in their current communities through their existing providers and staff.
4. Franklin, Tenn.-based Williamson Health’s board voted unanimously July 6 to pursue a $700 million sale to Ascension Saint Thomas, which is part of St. Louis-based Ascension. The proposed transaction has a total economic value of nearly $1 billion, including the purchase price, planned capital investments, EHR upgrades, service line expansions and commitments to charity care and community programs.
Williamson Health and Ascension Saint Thomas will negotiate a nonbinding letter of intent for consideration by the county commission before negotiating a definitive agreement. If approved, the transaction would then undergo regulatory review. Williamson Health said the process is expected to extend into 2027 or 2028.
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