St. Mary's Hospital one step closer in sale to Ascension (NJ)

St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic has been sold to a for-profit Catholic health care company that plans to create a network of hospitals across the state, officials announced Friday. The purchase price for St. Mary's, which has been struggling financially for years, was not disclosed. The deal will need approval from the state health commissioner. The sale is the first acquisition by the for-profit Ascension Health Care Network and a private equity firm in their effort to purchase three Catholic health care systems with seven hospitals statewide.