California-based Prime Healthcare has agreed to purchase 9 Ascension hospitals in Illinois, in addition to related doctor practices, post-acute and senior residing amenities.
The hospitals and senior residing amenities will be a part of Prime Healthcare’s for-profit well being system that at present contains 44 hospitals, greater than 300 outpatient places, and almost 45,000 staff and affiliated physicians.
Headquartered in St. Louis, the Catholic nonprofit Ascension has 140 hospitals in 19 states and Washington D.C. In Could, Ascension reported web earnings of $581 million for the fiscal third quarter ending March 31—a $1.3 billion turnaround from the identical interval final yr.
Phrases of the deal weren’t disclosed, however as a part of the acquisition, Prime Healthcare dedicated to investing $250 million in facility upgrades, capital enhancements, expertise investments and system upgrades. Prime Healthcare pressured that it has all obtainable funding and no debt might be placed on the hospitals to finish this transaction. Moreover, Prime has agreed to make employment gives to considerably all staff.
The acquisition settlement contains the next Ascension Illinois hospitals: Ascension Holy Household (Des Plaines), Ascension Mercy (Aurora), Ascension Resurrection (Chicago), Ascension Saint Francis (Evanston), Ascension Saint Joseph (Joliet), Ascension Saint Joseph (Elgin), Ascension Saint Mary (Kankakee) and Ascension Saint Mary and Saint Elizabeth (Chicago).
The transaction additionally contains the next post-acute and senior residing amenities at present operated by Ascension Dwelling: Fox Knoll Village (Aurora), Villa Franciscan Place (Joliet), Heritage Village and Heritage Lodge (Kankakee) and Resurrection Place (Park Ridge).
“Ascension Illinois has been dedicated to our mission of serving all individuals, with particular consideration to those that are most weak. Prime Healthcare’s mission and dedication to scientific excellence and well being fairness will keep it up this legacy, making certain that the larger Chicago space has sustainable, high quality healthcare entry lengthy into the long run,” mentioned Polly Davenport, president and CEO of Ascension Illinois, in an announcement. “We’re assured that Prime will proceed its document of excellence and sit up for working in partnership by the sale shut course of.”
Ascension has been busy making different offers. In June the College of Alabama at Birmingham Well being System Authority agreed to purchase Ascension St. Vincent’s Well being System in central Alabama for $450 million. Final yr, Detroit-based Henry Ford Well being and Ascension Michigan signed an settlement to enter a three way partnership that might merge eight Ascension southeast Michigan hospitals and Genesys healthcare amenities and property with Henry Ford’s.
In a current weblog publish on the group’s web site, Eduardo Conrado, Ascension’s president, described a strategic shift. He famous that like most well being programs throughout the nation, “we have now confronted vital challenges, together with decrease affected person volumes, value will increase, and labor shortages. These challenges have offered Ascension the chance to reimagine our ministry and affirm our mission in a altering healthcare setting, particularly as extra communities search care in non-traditional settings.”
Conrado mentioned that Ascension’s imaginative and prescient is to turn into a extra consolidated and built-in well being ministry, “specializing in assembly the shifting wants of our communities with particular consideration to those that are poor and weak. To realize this, we have now transitioned some hospitals by divestitures and invested in acute and non-acute care companies, together with ambulatory surgical procedure facilities, doctor practices, bodily and occupational remedy, at-home and digital care, imaging, and pharmacy. We imagine these modifications have strengthened Ascension and higher positioned us to fulfill group wants whereas optimizing monetary efficiency and strategic capital spending.”
The Illinois transaction is anticipated to shut throughout the first quarter of 2025, topic to regulatory approvals.
