LIMA — Two Catholic healthcare systems, Mercy Health and Bon Secours Health System, have recently announced their intentions to merge, a joint effort they hope will provide a better focus on the patients in their communities.
The merger between Mercy Health, a health care system with 500 healthcare facilities and 23 hospitals in Ohio and Kentucky, including Mercy Health-St. Rita’s, and Bon Secours, with 20 hospitals throughout six different states, will create a net operating revenue of $8 billion and $293 million in operating income, according to a news release.
The merger will be the fifth-largest Catholic health system in the country, the news release also said.
“Mercy Health and Bon Secours share a vision to improve the health of the communities we serve as the low-cost, high-value provider,” said Mercy Health President and CEO John M. Starcher, Jr., in a news release. “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.
The 33,500-plus Mercy Health employees and the 24,000 employees at Bon Secours will not be affected by the merger, according to Mercy Health Spokeswoman Maureen Richmond. Also, the merger will not have an impact on patient care.
The company has not yet decided on the name of the new entity, leadership changes, and where the new headquarters will be. Senior leadership teams from both companies will be looking at different elements and will working with a third-party provider to help make future decisions pertaining to the merger, according to Richmond.
A merger agreement is expected to be signed by the end of 2018, and from there it will need to be approved by the Federal Trade Commission and from the Vatican.
“Our commitment to providing quality patient care is unwavering,” said Richmond. “As we continue to work through the details of the merger, we will looking at branding through the eyes of the consumer and determine the positioning that continues to attract and retain patients and leveraging our Catholic heritage of Mercy Health and Bon Secours,” said Richmond.
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