Michigan health system acquires three hospitals

MyMichigan Health is expanding its footprint in Michigan, and the Ascension health system is moving to shed more of its hospitals in the midwest.

MyMichigan Health has reached an agreement to acquire three hospitals and an ambulatory surgical center from Ascension Michigan, the organizations said this week. With the deal, MyMichigian is acquiring the properties in Ascension Michigan’s Northern Region.

Assuming regulators approve the deal, the transaction will be completed this summer, the organizations said.

• Read more: Hospital merger activity is projected to increase in 2024

Under the agreement, MyMichigan will take over Ascension St. Mary’s of Saginaw, a 268-bed hospital; Ascension St. Mary’s Towne Center, an ambulatory surgery center, emergency department and short stay unit facility; Ascension St. Joseph in Tawas, a 47-bed hospital; and Ascension St. Mary’s of Standish, a 25-bed critical access hospital and 29-bed skilled nursing facility.

MyMichigan would also acquire all of Ascension Medical Group’s physician practices and care sites in the transaction.

Lydia Watson, MD, president and CEO of MyMichigan Health, said the organization is aiming to expand healthcare options for residents, including quaternary care with the system’s relationship with Michigan Medicine. She praised Ascension Michigan’s “already strong heritage of providing personalized and compassionate care.”

“We are focused and strongly believe in providing care close to home and to those that need it most,” Watson said in a statement. “We will ensure that patients, their families, neighbors and loved ones will have an exceptional health care experience for many, many years to come.”

A nonprofit system, MyMichigan Health operates nine hospitals and serves about 1 million people in a 25-county region.

Jordan Jeon, interim regional president & CEO of Ascension Michigan’s Northern Region and chief strategy officer of Ascension Michigan, said the organization has been focused on serving all patients, including “the most vulnerable.”

“As a regional provider, MyMichigan Health is well positioned to carry on this legacy, serving the community through an integrated care delivery system,” Jeon said in a statement. “This transition will ensure that Saginaw, Tawas City and Standish have sustainable, quality healthcare access long into the future.”

The Ascension Michigan properties will continue to operate independently of MyMichigan Health until the deal is completed, officials said.

Ascension Michigan and Henry Ford Health announced plans last fall to form a new system with a combined $10.5 billion in revenue. In that venture, several Ascension hospitals in southeast Michigan will be joining with Henry Ford, based in Detroit. The systems said it is not a merger or acquisition, and no cash transactions would be taking place. The new, expanded organization would be branded Henry Ford Health.

Ascension has sold some of its hospitals elsewhere in the midwest. Aspirus Health purchased seven Ascension hospitals in Wisconsin in 2021.

Ascension, a nonprofit Catholic health system, operates 140 hospitals and many other healthcare sites in 19 states and Washington, D.C.

There have already been some noteworthy hospital mergers announced in 2024, and analysts expect to see more deals in the coming months.

Northwell Health and Nuvance Health announced their plans to merge in February. If regulators approve the deal, the combined system would operate 28 hospitals and more than 1,000 sites of care.

The University of California has reached an agreement to buy four hospitals from Tenet Healthcare Corp. in a $975 million deal. If regulators approve the deal, the hospitals will become part of UCI Health, the health enterprise of the University of California-Irvine.

In February, Novant Health completed a $2.4 billion deal to acquire three South Carolina hospitals from Tenet Healthcare Corp.