Ascension all but exits Michigan's health care market with latest sale of 4 hospitals
Ascension health care's name in Michigan will vanish later this year if it completes a deal to sell four of its hospitals in the southwestern part of the state to Indiana-based Beacon Health System.
The nonprofit Beacon announced last week that it plans to acquire Ascension Michigan's four remaining hospitals — Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo, Ascension Borgess Allegan Hospital, Ascension Borgess-Lee Hospital in Dowagiac and Ascension Borgess-Pipp Hospital in Plainwell — along with 35 outpatient clinics and an ambulatory surgery center in southwestern Michigan.
'Expanding our reach deeper into southwest Michigan broadens access to high-quality, affordable care for communities served by Ascension, extends our service area and provides growth opportunity to further strengthen the health system,' said Kreg Gruber, CEO of Beacon Health System, in a statement. 'This acquisition will create a bright future for these communities by ensuring access to quality healthcare services for generations.'
Pending regulatory review, Beacon said the deal could be completed as soon as this summer and will add 2,700 employees to the system, which now has 8,100 workers and is headquartered in South Bend, Indiana.
It's the latest spinoff in a spree of property sales for the Catholic nonprofit Ascension, which has sold or consolidated 34 hospitals and six senior living facilities nationally since December 2023, according to a Free Press review of data Ascension reported on its website.
It's part of the company's efforts to regain its financial footing in the wake of $2.66 billion in losses in 2022 and early 2023. It reported a net income of $277 million in the second quarter of this fiscal year.
Until last year, Ascension owned and operated 15 Michigan hospitals. But as part of deals with Henry Ford Health, MyMichigan Health — and now Beacon — the St. Louis-based Catholic health system will exit the state in name, even if it maintains a financial toehold.
More: Henry Ford Health finalizes Ascension deal, becoming Michigan's 2nd largest health system
The four southwestern Michigan Ascension Borgess hospitals will be rebranded under the Beacon Health System name once the acquisition is completed. No job cuts are expected, said spokesperson Heidi Prescott.
"All southwest Michigan clinicians and associates will be offered the opportunity to continue employment with Beacon Health System, provided they follow Beacon's hiring process and meet the legal requirements to work," Prescott said in an email message to the Detroit Free Press. "This includes the clinicians and associates of related AMG (Ascension Medical Group) practices."
Prescott declined to answer how much the acquisition will cost Beacon or whether patient access to reproductive and LGBTQ+ health care at the Ascension properties will be affected by the deal.
"It is too early to discuss specific services," Prescott said.
More: As large Michigan health systems merge, independent hospitals are vanishing
Ascension did not immediately respond to a Free Press request for comment.
In August, Ascension finalized the sale of three hospitals, along with a nursing home and stand-alone emergency department/surgery center to MyMichigan Health. The deal involved the following properties:
Ascension St. Mary's Hospital in Saginaw, which was renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw
Ascension St. Mary's Towne Center in Saginaw, which was renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Towne Centre
Ascension St. Joseph Hospital in Tawas, which was renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas
And Ascension Standish Hospital, which was renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Standish
And in late September, Ascension formally consolidated with Detroit-based Henry Ford Health, transferring 80% ownership and naming rights to Henry Ford for the following hospitals:
Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, which was renamed Henry Ford Genesys Hospital
Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Warren Campus, which was renamed Henry Ford Warren Hospital
Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital, Madison Heights Campus, which was renamed Henry Ford Madison Heights Hospital
Ascension Providence Hospital, Novi Campus, which was renamed Henry Ford Providence Novi Hospital
Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield Campus, which was renamed Henry Ford Providence Southfield Hospital
Ascension Providence Rochester Hospital, which was renamed Henry Ford Rochester Hospital
Ascension River District Hospital, which was renamed Henry Ford River District Hospital
Ascension St. John Hospital, which was renamed Henry Ford St. John Hospital
And Ascension Brighton Center for Recovery, which was renamed Henry Ford Brighton Center for Recovery
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com.
Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ascension exits Michigan health care market with sale of 4 hospitals
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