Dignity Health, CHI Merger Pushed Back One Month

No specific reason was given for the delay, but CommonSpirit Health is expected to be operational on January 31, 2019.

Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives bumped back the closing date for the creation of their merged CommonSpirit Health, from December 31, 2018 to January 31, 2019, Dignity Health said in a media release.

No specific reasons were given for the delay of the merger, which was announced last December.

"We continue to finalize the last steps to bring our operations together and to combine our ministries, including the completion of licenses, certifications and other administrative items," Dignity said. "We are looking forward to completing our alignment, and we also want to make sure this is seamless for those we serve."

CommonSpirit Health will include hospitals, outpatient centers, home health agencies, assisted living and retirement communities, and community-based health programs.

The organization will be led by CEOs Kevin E. Lofton, currently CEO of CHI, and Lloyd H. Dean, currently President/CEO of Dignity Health. They will oversee a health system that will include more than 700 care sites and 139 hospitals, approximately 159,000 employees and more than 25,000 physicians and other advanced practice clinicians.

The name CommonSpirit Health was chosen in November from among more than 1,200 possible names. The health systems said they settled on that name because it represents a shared sense of missional service and because it resonates with the diverse populations being served, the organizations said.