Butler (Pa.) Health System and Greensburg, Pa.-based Excela Health System have finalized their merger, creating a five-hospital system that will serve about 750,000 patients. 

Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System has finalized its acquisition of Tampa-based Northside Behavioral Health Center after seven years of managing the mental health center.

LCMC Health finalized its $150 million purchase of three hospitals from HCA Healthcare Jan. 3 after securing approval from the Louisiana Department of Justice. 

Charleston (W.Va.) Area Medical Center, part of Vandalia Health, acquired Ronceverte, W.Va.-based Greenbrier Valley Medical Center from Community Health Systems Jan. 1, according to MetroNews.

Severe staffing shortages at Madera (Calif.) Community Hospital are forcing permanent closure sooner than expected, according to a report from ABC 30 Action News.

Seattle Children's Hospital acquired the headquarters of Renton, Wash.-based Providence for $84 million, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported Dec. 28. 

Bankrupt clinic chain Borrego Health will auction off millions of dollars worth of real estate, medical equipment and other property in January, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Dec. 24. 

Augusta (Ga.) University Health System signed a letter of intent to join Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System.

Hospitals and health systems face a variety of short- and long-term challenges in the year ahead, and one can be summed up in just a few letters: the FTC.

Madera (Calif.) Community Hospital plans to file for bankruptcy Jan. 3 and close within the month.

The Wall Street Journal is monitoring nonprofit health systems and recently published an article scrutinizing where the largest systems are expanding and contracting.

St. Francis Medical Center in Trenton, N.J., on Dec. 21 transitioned to a freestanding emergency room that offers various outpatient services after Capital Health acquired the hospital from Trinity Health, according to PBS affiliate WHYY.

Consolidation continued to take flight across the healthcare sector this year, with many hospitals and health systems pursuing mergers and acquisitions to scale and reduce costs, provide additional care services and strengthen their footprint in certain markets. 

Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital in Dover, Ohio, plan to merge their urgent care centers in Tuscarawas County in the spring, according to the Times Reporter.

Children's Hospital New Orleans is affiliating with Our Lady of the Lake Children's Health in a partnership that will see the New Orleans pediatric hospital take control of the Baton Rouge, La., hospital.

For the first time, anyone can view detailed information on the ownership of more than 7,000 Medicare-certified hospitals with a new data set published by HHS Dec. 20. 

Children's Hospital New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La.-based Our Lady of the Lake Children's Health are collaborating to bolster child health outcomes and specialized services across the state.

Mullica Hill, N.J.-based Inspira Health has added Salem (N.J.) Medical Center to its system and acquired its hospital building, ASC and physician offices. 

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has conditionally approved the sale of "financially distressed" Madera Community Hospital to Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health, according to a Dec. 15 news release. 

Nearly a dozen hospital mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, affiliations and partnerships were unwound or called off throughout 2022.