New Jersey hospitals abandon merger plan

After nearly two years of planning and discussion, Atlantic Health and Saint Peter’s Healthcare System say they aren’t going to be merging after all.

The two New Jersey health systems said this week that they have dropped their merger plans.

In a joint statement, Atlantic and Saint Peter’s decided to remain separate after evaluating the “rapidly evolving health care landscape nationally and its impact on hospitals and health systems across the country.”

The leaders of both systems described it as a mutual decision, but they also conceded that they were disappointed in the result.

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Saad Ehtisham, president and CEO of Atlantic Health, said he hoped the two systems would work together in the future despite the decision to remain separate.

“While disappointing, unfortunately we have determined that this is the most appropriate path forward,” Ehtisham said in a statement. “Despite this, our two organizations have enjoyed a shared history of collaboration on behalf of our patients that I hope will continue to guide our work in the future.”

Leslie D. Hirsch, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, said the organization remains strong, even though the merger isn’t coming to fruition.

“Although we have agreed to mutually terminate the pending transaction, we are disappointed by this result,” Hirsch said in a statement. “Saint Peter’s has proudly fulfilled its Catholic mission for over 118 years in the communities it serves. Saint Peter’s takes great pride in the fact that it is well-positioned for continued success, as it now rethinks its future.”

The two systems announced in June 2024 that they had reached a definitive agreement on a merger. Atlantic and Saint Peter’s first disclosed their intention to come together in January 2024.

Atlantic initially touted its plan to expand services for Saint Peter’s and said it would upgrade the organization’s technology.

When the definitive agreement was first announced, Hirsch said that the merger would ensure Saint Peter’s “will remain a strong presence in the central New Jersey area serving the community as a Catholic hospital for many decades to come.”

Even if the two systems had merged, they said Saint Peter’s would have retained its Catholic identity.

This is the second time in recent years that Saint Peter’s pursued a merger that didn’t come to fruition.

Saint Peter’s previously planned to join RWJBarnabas Health, but the Federal Trade Commission opposed the transaction. Even though New Jersey regulators had signed off on the merger, the FTC argued the deal would have hurt competition and prices for acute care services in Middlesex County. Ultimately, the deal was abandoned.

Atlantic Health System operates seven hospitals in New Jersey and more than 550 other healthcare locations across much of the Garden State. The system also serves patients in parts of New York and Philadelphia. Atlantic has revenues of $5 billion.

Saint Peter’s operates a non-profit, 478-bed teaching hospital, a children’s hospital, and a host of other care sites.

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