Beacon Health System grows with addition of Ascension hospitals
The Indiana-based system has completed a deal to acquire four Ascension hospitals in Michigan, along with a host of clinics.
Beacon Health System may be based in South Bend, Indiana, but the organization is now gaining a greater foothold into Michigan.
Kreg Gruber, chief executive officer of the Beacon Health System, said the acquisition of four Ascension hospitals and a host of clinics in Michigan marks a new chapter for the organization.
The health system completed a deal this month to acquire Ascension Southwest Michigan. With the transaction, Beacon has acquired four additional hospitals, along with 35 outpatient clinics and an ambulatory surgery center.
With the acquisition, Beacon Health System now operates 11 hospitals in its footprint. The deal brings about 500 more hospital beds into the system. Beacon is also adding more than 2,700 employees to the organization, including 259 providers. The organizations first announced the definitive agreement on the transaction in April.
Kreg Gruber, chief executive officer of the Beacon Health System, said the acquisition of the Ascension hospitals and outpatient facilities represents “an important new chapter.”
“We couldn’t be more excited about what we’ll accomplish as one unified team dedicated to serving our communities,” Gruber said in a statement. “This acquisition represents our continued commitment to strengthening health care in our region. Our patients will benefit from access to an expanded network of services and providers.”
With the completion of the deal, Beacon Health acquired the facility formerly known as Ascension Borgess in Kalamazoo, a 422-bed acute care hospital. The hospital will now be called Beacon Kalamazoo.
The other three newly acquired hospitals will also carry the Beacon brand.
Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital, a critical access hospital with 25 beds, is now called Beacon Allegan. Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital, which has 25 beds, is branded as Beacon Dowagiac, and Ascension Borgess-Pipp Hospital, with 43 beds, becomes Beacon Plainwell.
With the transaction, Beacon is boosting its medical education capabilities. The health system is now a partner with Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, which boasts more than 240 residents and fellows in 14 programs.
Beacon touts the prospect of adding more specialty care options to residents in southwest Michigan. The system also says that with its added size, Beacon will have more success in recruiting and retaining top talent, and employees within the organization will have more opportunities to advance in their careers.
Gruber also pointed to the value of Beacon being a locally-governed nonprofit health system.“We remain committed to a community focus, driven by our mission to deliver outstanding care, inspire health and connect with heart,” Gruber said in a statement. “Our commitment to exceptional care is what makes our organization strong, and now together with our new associates and providers, we’re stronger than ever.”
Ascension has been divesting some of its hospitals in the midwest in the past few years.
The system sold nine Illinois hospitals to Prime Healthcare last year in a $375 million deal. Last summer, Ascension sold three hospitals to MyMichigan Health.
Ascension is leaning more heavily into outpatient care, with its recent announcement of an agreement to acquire AMSURG and its 250 ambulatory surgery centers.
Beacon has enjoyed the dominant share of the market in its core service area around St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in Indiana, and the system was given an “AA-” rating and a stable outlook in a June 2024 report from Fitch Ratings.
