Nation's largest Catholic health system to buy Alexian Brothers

[Beau_Ouiville]

"Alexian Brothers Health System, which operates two large hospitals in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, has signed a letter of intent to merge into the largest Catholic health system in the country.

Alexian, which operates Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village and St. Alexis Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, will be acquired by Ascension Health, based in St. Louis, which operates hospitals and health facilities in 20 states across the U.S. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Alexian Brothers and Ascension Health share a commitment to strengthening Catholic health care nationwide and we are very enthusiastic about the prospect of helping them continue their vital ministry for generations to come,” said Ascension Health President and Chief Executive Anthony R. Tersigni."

chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chibrkbus-nations-largest-catholic-health-system-to-buy-alexian-brothers-20110427,0,3948467.story

 

[incense]

A friend of mine, whose order had to sell their hospital, explained to me that the federal laws changed and that as a single hospital, they could not handle the liability anymore and were forced to merge/sell.

I don’t know if this has anything to do with this merger, but maybe others didn’t know it was a problem.

 

[Dale_M]

I don’t know if this has anything to do with this merger, but maybe others didn’t know it was a problem.

I think its a tough go for any single hospital in the US to be independent. The market forces are intense, and have been for some time The health care system has seen several waves of consolidation during the past 25 years. Sadly, Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago didn’t survive.
(I know it closed a couple years ago, but I just learned it now. )

Anyways, there seem to have been multiple pressures on Alexian Brothers

Mark Frey, executive vice president of Alexian, said that merging the two health systems will enable Alexian to realize “tremendous efficiencies and economies of scale, become a stronger organization, and remain a viable institution in the future.”

He said the merger will help Alexian grapple with new regulatory and business hurdles involving reimbursement, electronic health records, and new alliances between physicians and hospitals. “Ascension brings experience to us, rather than have to go market and purchase that experience,” Frey said. “It allows us to provide more services to the poor.”

stltoday.com/business/local/article_63c7d0ec-7119-11e0-9b65-001a4bcf6878.html

Apparently the Alexian Brothers order will no longer be involved with the hospital chain.