CINCINNATI — Cincinnati-based Mercy Health announced Wednesday it plans to merge with Bon Secours Health System, a Catholic non-profit health system headquartered in Maryland.
“Mercy Health and Bon Secours share a vision to improve the health of the communities we serve as the low-cost, high-value provider,” Mercy Health President and CEO John M. Starcher, Jr., said Wednesday. “Working together, our strong faith-based heritage fuels our mutual focus to provide efficient and effective health care for each patient who comes through our doors.”
Officials said the joint venture would mean a 43-hospital network across seven states with $8 billion in net operating revenue and $293 million in operating income. The merger would create the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country, according to the merger announcement.
Mercy Health spokesman Maureen Richmond said Wednesday that it was too soon to speculate about several key factors — including possible leadership changes, what the new entity will be called, and where its headquarters will be. The union will allow the new entity to take advantage of best practices and efficiency gained in a larger operation, officials said.
Ms. Richmond called it “a merger of equals” between “two very financially sound entities with an unwavering commitment to the patients and communities we serve.”
She declined to comment on whether it would mean a loss or transfer of jobs out of Cincinnati. About 1,200 employees work at Mercy Health’s home office there.
Mercy Health operates more than 500 health care facilities — including 23 hospitals — in Ohio and Kentucky and employs more than 33,500 people. Bon Secours has 20 hospitals across Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, and New York and has more than 24,000 employees.
“This merger strengthens our shared commitment to improve population health, eliminate health disparities, build strength to address social determinants of health, and invest heavily in innovating our approaches to health care,” Bon Secours President and CEO Richard J. Statuto said.
As for patients of Mercy Health’s seven Toledo-area hospitals and associated health care facilities, Ms. Richmond said the merger won’t disrupt services.
“It’s very important to know that we don’t anticipate changes at individual facilities,” she said, adding that they will “continue to provide high-value, low-cost care for those communities.”
No merger agreement has been signed, officials said, but one is expected by the end of 2018. Ms. Richmond said the two parties will work with a third-party consultant that specializes in mergers to iron out the details. From there, it will need approval from Federal Trade Commission and from the Vatican.
Contact Lauren Lindstrom at llindstrom@theblade.com, 419-724-6154, or on Twitter @lelindstrom.
First Published February 21, 2018, 8:07 p.m.
