Bon Secours finalizes merger with Mercy Health

Bon Secours Health System and Mercy Health finalized their merger on Wednesday, creating the fifth largest Catholic health system in the U.S.

The new leadership team, to be led by President and CEO John M. Starcher Jr., former chief of Mercy, took effect immediately upon the announcement, officials said.  The merger comes about six months after the organizations first announced plans to integrate.

Officials said the combined nonprofit health system will provide nearly $640 million annually in charity care and community benefit programs.

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In February, it was first announced Bon Secours—a not-for-profit Catholic health system with operations in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida and New York—intended to merge with Mercy Health, a Catholic health ministry in Ohio and Kentucky.

The two organizations represented $8 billion in net operating revenue and $293 million in operating income, according to an announcement about the merger. The combined systems will include 57,000 associates and more than 2,100 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians.

The new system will have more than 10 million patient encounters across seven states, with 43 hospitals, more than 1,000 care sites and more than 50 home health agencies, hospice agencies, and skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.

RELATED: Bon Secours, Mercy Health to merge and create fifth largest Catholic health system in the U.S.

Officials said they were able to finalize the deal so quickly because of "early alignment of similar cultures and grounding in mission-based" care. They also said no outside resources were used to organize the agreement between the two organizations, but Deloitte Consulting was hired to assist with operational integration.

Leaders of the newly formed health system include Chief Operating Officer Brian Smith, Chief Clinical Officer Wael Haidar and Chief Financial Officer Debbie Bloomfield.

The C-suite also includes Chief Administrative Officer Mark Nantz, Chief Enterprise Risk Officer Jeff Oak, Chief Legal Officer Michael Bezney, Chief Community Health Officer Sam Ross and Chief Sponsorship and Mission Officer Sr. Ann Lutz.

The merger is part of ongoing consolidation across the industry including a planned merger between Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives as well as a merger between Partners HealthCare in Massachusetts and Care New England Health System in Rhode Island.