Akron General to be sold to Community Health Systems and Cleveland Clinic joint venture

Nashville-based Community Health Systems is partnering with the Cleveland Clinic to buy up the majority of Akron General Health System in Summit County, marking the latest in a wave of hospital mergers and acquisitions that are changing the Northeast Ohio healthcare landscape. A relationship established earlier this year between CHS and the Clinic laid the groundwork for the Akron General deal, announced today through a non-binding letter of intent. CHS will be the majority owner of Akron General if it is finalized. The CHS-Clinic partnership, announced in March, was designed to expand the Clinic's national reach and improve efficiency among the more than 130 hospitals that CHS operates nationwide.