The merger between Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health was completed last week, officially creating the new nonprofit Catholic health system CommonSpirit Health.
The new $29 billion system is the largest nonprofit health system in the country by revenue, operating more than 700 care sites and 142 hospitals, as well as research programs, virtual care services, home health programs and living communities.
The combined system has 150,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians.
CommonSpirit officials said the new combined system will focus on several areas including:
- Improving by expanding clinical expertise across the system
- Accelerating the shift toward providing services outside the hospital
- Investing in technologies that make care more convenient and personal
- Addressing the underlying causes of poor health and advocating for social solutions for them
- Retaining and recruiting a highly skilled workforce
The new organization has also said it aims to become a national platform for innovation and research, capitalizing on existing intellectual property and research capabilities, to position the new organization as a partner for other entrepreneurial organizations. In September 2016, the two systems formed the Precision Medicine Alliance to create the largest community-based precision medicine program in the country.
CHI and Dignity Health previously announced that the new ministry will retain the names of local facilities and services in the communities where they are located.
Dignity CEO Lloyd Dean and CHI CEO Kevin Lofton will both serve as chief executive for CommonSpirit, each with his own responsibilities and oversight.
Merger mania
It wasn't the only merger to complete last week.
The acquisition of Asheville, North Carolina-based Mission Health by healthcare giant HCA Healthcare was also finalized.
RELATED: North Carolina's attorney general OKs HCA acquisition of Mission Health
Mission Health, North Carolina’s sixth-largest health system with six hospitals and 13,000 employees, is now a new operating division of Nashville-based HCA Healthcare. The acquisition brought HCA to a total of 185 hospitals.