Two St. Louis-based providers enter a partnership deal that is expected to be finalized in the spring.
Mercy health system, which features a service area in four Midwestern states, and St. Louis-based St. Anthony's Medical Center announced an affiliation deal this week.
Mercy, which also is based in St. Louis, operates 32 acute-care hospitals in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In the 2016 fiscal year, the health system reported $5 billion in operating revenue.
St. Anthony's Medical Center features a comprehensive healthcare complex with 767 licensed beds, a Level II trauma center, and Level I stroke center. The organization also operates four urgent care centers. For the 2015 fiscal year, St. Anthony's reported total revenue at $482 million.
Both organizations are faith-based healthcare providers.
Care access and coordination of care are key goals of the affiliation, Donn Sorensen, Mercy regional president, said in a media statement announcing the deal Monday.
"St. Anthony's leadership and legacy of quality, compassionate care aligns naturally with Mercy. Their strong presence in the growing south St. Louis County area enables us to work together to expand access and provide a more coordinated system of care for patients across the entire St. Louis region."
The definitive agreement announced Monday calls for St. Anthony's to affiliate with Mercy's four acute-care hospitals in the metropolitan St. Louis area. Further details of the affiliation deal are under negotiation and are expected to be finalized this spring.
The affiliation between Mercy and St. Anthony's reflects a national trend of healthcare providers entering consolidation contracts that fall short of traditional merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions.
Survey data in a HealthLeaders Media Intelligence Report shows that affiliations, collaborations or alliances are the most common forms of reported non-M&A contractual relationships.
Christopher Cheney is the CMO editor at HealthLeaders.