The nonprofit provider is forming two divisions, Ascension Healthcare and Ascension Solutions, and renaming a number of health systems.
Ascension Health, the nation's largest nonprofit healthcare company by number of hospitals, plans to split into two divisions and rename several health systems in Michigan and Wisconsin.
The moves are the first steps in aligning the faith-based organization's national structure with its local identities and increasing care coordination for its patients.
The realignment will enhance internal collaboration, better support physicians and other caregivers, and ultimately provide more affordable, high-quality care for its patients, the company stated in a press release.
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The two divisions will be named Ascension Healthcare and Ascension Solutions.
In addition to hospitals and clinics, Ascension Healthcare will include:
- Ascension Senior Living (nursing homes)
- Ascension At Home (homecare and hospice)
- Ascension Clinical Holdings (community clinics)
- Ascension Medical Group (physician practices)
Ascension Solutions will include mainly the organization's holdings that don't offer direct patient care. These include subsidiaries that provide clinical care management, information services, contracts through Ascension's provider-sponsored group purchasing and business transformation organization, biomedical engineering, venture capital investing, and an SEC-approved investment management company.
Many of these holdings also offer services to other healthcare providers.
"For the past several years, Ascension has been on a journey to create what we call 'One Ascension,' " said Robert J. Henkel, president and CEO of Ascension's Healthcare division and executive vice president of the parent company, in a press release.
"As we work together to sharpen our focus on clinical quality and safety, we also are expanding beyond traditional hospital-based approaches, collaborating with community partners to build clinically integrated systems of care to eliminate health disparities and improve the health of communities."
Facilities in Michigan and Wisconsin will be first to adopt the Ascension name. Ascension Michigan sites include Borgess in the Kalamazoo region; Crittenton in suburban Detroit; Genesys in the Flint/Grand Blanc area; St. John Providence in metro Detroit; St. Joseph in Tawas City; and St. Mary's, with services in Saginaw and Standish.
Ascension Wisconsin systems—Ministry Health Care, Columbia St. Mary's, and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare—will now use the Ascension name.
In August, employees of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare and Columbia St. Mary's reported layoffs at those facilities, but Ascension did not confirm those reports. Unionized workers circulated a petition articulating their concerns.