Here is a summary of hospital and healthcare merger and acquisition-related transactions from August:
1. Marietta, Ga.-based Wellstar Health System and Augusta (Ga.) University Health System are officially one, effective Aug. 30. AU Health's three hospitals have joined Wellstar's nine to create a unified entity.
Wellstar has committed to invest $797 million in Augusta facilities over the next 10 years as a condition of the deal.
2. Doylestown (Pa.) Health closed the $80.6 million sale of its Pine Run retirement community Aug. 24, selling the assets to Dillsburg, Pa.-based Presbyterian Senior Living.
3. Louisville, Ky.-based Norton Healthcare plans to fully acquire two Indiana hospitals, Clark Memorial Health in Jeffersonville and Scott Memorial Health in Scottsburg, ending a joint partnership with LifePoint Health.
Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint and Norton have agreed to shift the full ownership of the hospitals to Norton.
4. Madison, W.Va.-based Boone Memorial Health is set to acquire Family Life Pharmacy assets and a pharmacy building.
Once the transaction is closed, the current Family Life Pharmacy will reopen as BMH Comfort Pharmacy. All current employees will be rehired, the system said in a news release.
5. The court overseeing Montebello, Calif.-based Beverly Community Hospital's bankruptcy case has approved an asset purchase agreement with Adventist Health White Memorial.
Both organizations are engaged in transition planning to provide smooth continuity of care for patients, Los Angeles-based Adventist said in an Aug. 18 news release.
6. Portland-based Legacy Health and Oregon Health & Science University have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to combine and create a 10-hospital system with more than 32,000 employees and over 100 locations.
The letter of intent, the first step in a transaction process by which Legacy will become part of OHSU, was unanimously approved by the boards of both OHSU and Legacy. OHSU will invest $1 billion over 10 years to support primary- and community-based services within the combined system.
7. The board of regents has approved the University of Iowa's request to purchase most of Mercy Iowa City's assets for $20 million, The Gazette reported Aug. 8. Mercy Iowa City is a 234-bed facility which its primary investor has said is in "financial freefall," a claim the hospital denies.
8. Cincinnati Children's has acquired primary care practice Pediatric Associates of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Business Courier reported Aug. 7.
The 77-year-old practice will retire its name and relocate closer to Cincinnati Children's Kenwood Crossing Primary Care. Pediatric Associates is the sixth pediatric practice acquired by Cincinnati Children's since 2021.
9. Boston-based Tufts Medicine is selling its outreach laboratory business for an undisclosed amount to Labcorp as the first step to a broader partnership, Boston Business Journals reported Aug. 3.
In February, Tufts was downgraded by Fitch Ratings due to prolonged financial difficulties. The health system joins Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health and Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health in selling off its lab assets as financial pressure builds.
10. Modesto, Calif.-based American Advanced Management has written a letter of intent to operate the bankrupt Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
The agreement, designed to lead to a strategic partnership between the two entities, could see AAM lease the Hollister, Calif.-based hospital's assets for "several years" prior to purchasing them outright, according to a press release shared with Becker's.
11. Kalispell, Mont.-based Logan Health, a six-hospital system, and Billings (Mont.) Clinic will merge Sept. 1 after receiving regulatory approval, according to an Aug. 3 news release.
As a combined, independent health system, the organizations believe they will be better equipped to sustain and grow services to meet patient needs in Montana and Wyoming.
12. Cape Girardeau, Mo.-based SoutheastHealth has signed a definitive agreement to join St. Louis-based Mercy, a 42-hospital system. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other third-party approvals.
13. Centennial, Colo.-based Centura Health is folding into CommonSpirit Health, with the Chicago-based system now managing 20 of its hospitals with plans to retire the Centura brand, CommonSpirit said Aug. 1
Earlier this year, CommonSpirit and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth announced they would end their Centura Health joint venture after 27 years, with each health system directly managing their respective care sites in Colorado and Kansas.
14. Winston Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health is set to become a 30 percent owner of Conway (S.C.) Medical Center after the two systems said Aug. 1 they will pursue a strategic partnership.
The partnership, which will see no change in Conway Medical Center as an independent system, could be the start of greater affiliation between the two systems, said John Gizdic, Novant Health's chief administrative officer.
15. DAP Health's acquisition of bankrupt Borrego Springs, Calif.-based clinic chain Borrego has received final approvals, and the two will now operate as one integrated system. Borrego Health filed for bankruptcy Sept. 12, 2022.