Accounting and consulting firm Crowe Horwath has acquired a majority interest in Chan Healthcare, an internal audit services firm owned by St. Louis-based Ascension Health and Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives.
Ascension and CHI co-founded Chan Healthcare in 1997 as a way to provide internal auditing and accounting services exclusively to hospitals and health systems. Currently, Chan Healthcare works with more than 350 hospitals and healthcare facilities across the country, many of which are within Ascension and CHI, two of the largest Catholic-based health systems in the United States.
Under the deal, Crowe Horwath obtained a majority interest, but Ascension and CHI will still retain minority ownership. Specific ownership stakes and other financial details were not disclosed.
Crowe Horwath, the ninth-largest public accounting firm in the country, will add Chan Healthcare's roughly 320 certified public accountants and other financial professionals to its ranks. Steve Strammello, managing partner of risk consulting services at Crowe, will become CEO of Chan Healthcare. Current President and CEO David LeMoine, who has been with the company since its founding, will stay on as a consultant.
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