Trinity Health and CommonSpirit Health announced Tuesday they have signed an agreement for Trinity Health to acquire all facilities and assets of MercyOne, a regional health system based in Iowa.
Although Mercy Iowa City announced last summer its intention to leave its affiliation with the statewide MercyOne health network, MercyOne remains the managing partner as Mercy Iowa City searches for a new affiliate partner.
Since 1998, MercyOne has operated under a joint operating agreement between not-for-profit Catholic health care organizations Trinity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives, which is now CommonSpirit.
MercyOne is a leading health system in Iowa and serves more than 3.3 million patients each year. The system includes 16 medical centers, 27 affiliate organizations and more than 420 care sites offering a range of health and wellness services, including provider services and urgent care, and more than 20,000 colleagues including 2,000 of the state’s most talented doctors and providers.
“True to our shared Catholic mission, our goal is to provide high-quality, compassionate care with the best patient/member experience possible. We will accomplish that goal through a holistic approach, with a range of health services and technologies that are fully connected and coordinated,” Mike Slubowski, president and chief executive officer at Trinity Health, stated in a release. “This agreement creates a fully integrated MercyOne to care for more people in a unified way.”
After months of analysis and due diligence, Trinity Health and CommonSpirit determined a sole parent is the best path forward for MercyOne and for the communities it serves. Trinity Health, a national health system spanning 25 states, will bring unified strategies and operations to MercyOne’s care sites, including one set of system services.
As an example, MercyOne will transition to Trinity Health’s common platforms, including a single electronic health record (EHR), ultimately allowing patients to easily manage their care across all MercyOne services and facilities.
“After two decades of successful collaboration, we are immensely proud of our partnership with Trinity Health and our efforts to advance health care statewide,” Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer at CommonSpirit Health, stated in a release. “While the current structure has been instrumental in growing our health care services in Iowa, we believe this decision is ultimately what is best for our patients, colleagues, and our communities.”
Trinity Health and CommonSpirit will now plan for integration, complete regulatory filings, and take other steps necessary to finalize the transaction, which is expected to be completed summer 2022.
