(Hartford, Conn; St. Louis) January 16, 2013 – Saint Francis Care, Inc., and Ascension Health Care Network announced today the signing of an exclusive Letter of Intent, opening the way for Saint Francis Care to join Ascension Health Care Network, with the vision of building a statewide, clinically integrated healthcare delivery system composed of high-quality providers committed to delivering an unequaled combination of healthcare quality and community value to residents across Connecticut.
Ascension Health Care Network is an affiliate of Ascension Health Alliance, the largest Catholic health system in the nation.
“We are very pleased that we and Ascension Health Care Network are pursuing the opportunity to join together,” said Christopher Dadlez, President and Chief Executive Officer, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. “This step follows a thorough examination of how best to ensure that the people we serve in our communities continue to receive a lifetime of the very best care possible,” said Dadlez.
“This is an important step in advancing the mission of both Ascension Health Care Network and Saint Francis Care,” said Leo P. Brideau, President and CEO of Ascension Health Care Network. “We share a common goal of providing high-quality, efficient care that responds to people’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs while aggressively advocating for the well-being of our patients and their families, and ensuring healthcare is available to those who are poor and vulnerable. We believe this relationship has the potential to improve healthcare at both the state and regional level.”
If an agreement is finalized, Saint Francis Care will become part of Ascension Health Care Network, an organization dedicated to strengthening Catholic healthcare in the United States and committed to providing care for the underserved in our communities. Ascension Health Care Network is a for-profit, taxable organization.
“Saint Francis, a 116-year-old institution, has consistently demonstrated its ability to be progressive in its delivery of world-class care while maintaining its longstanding tradition of quality and compassionate care,” said Karl J. Krapek, Saint Francis Board Member and Chairman of the Board’s Strategic Planning Committee. “Operating from our position of financial and clinical strength, we have been evaluating how best to position Saint Francis as healthcare continues to evolve, and we have concluded that this opportunity provides us with the potential to create a powerful, statewide presence to further build on the strengths of our operations that will benefit our communities, employees, physicians and other stakeholders.”
Ascension Health Care Network and Saint Francis Care will conduct due diligence and work toward the development of a definitive agreement in the coming months.
Specific terms of the Letter of Intent agreement are confidential.
About Ascension Health Alliance
Ascension Health Alliance is a Catholic healthcare organization dedicated to the transformation of healthcare through excellent clinical care throughout the continuum and through innovation. Its subsidiaries include Ascension Health, the nation’s largest Catholic and non-profit health system. Ascension Health provides the highest quality care to all with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Last year Ascension Health provided $1.3 billion in care of persons living in poverty and community benefit programs. Its Mission-focused Health Ministries employ more than 122,000 associates serving in more than 1,400 locations in 21 states and the District of Columbia. Other Ascension Health Alliance subsidiaries focus on service areas including physician services, global mission support, treasury management, innovation acceleration, venture capital investing, and medical engineering. Its Ascension Health Care Network subsidiary is a joint venture with Oak Hill Capital Partners that provides an alternative funding source for the acquisition of Catholic hospitals and other healthcare provider entities.
About Saint Francis Care
Saint Francis Care is an integrated healthcare delivery system established by Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, an anchor institution in north central Connecticut since 1897. Licensed for 617 beds and 65 bassinets, it is a major teaching hospital and the largest Catholic hospital in New England. Other major entities of Saint Francis Care include The Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital, the Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute, the Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute of Connecticut, the Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center, and the Joyce D. and Andrew J. Mandell Center for Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Care and Neuroscience Research. Its services are supported by a network of five major Access Centers and eight additional medical office centers sited throughout the region. For more information, visit www.stfranciscare.com.
DENVILLE, NJ (March 16, 2012)—The Saint Clare’s Health System board and Catholic Health Initiatives have decided to seek a new owner for Saint Clare’s Health System to better meet the demands and needs of the communities served by SCHS.
The Saint Clare’s Health System board recommended Ascension Health Care Network, Inc., an affiliate of Ascension Health, St. Louis, Mo., to its current sponsor, Catholic Health Initiatives, Englewood, Colo., after a thorough year-long evaluation of strategic alternatives and discussions in recent months with Catholic, not-for-profit and for-profit health care organizations that expressed interest in Saint Clare’s.
The Board recognized that as health care reform continues to evolve, it will be critical for health providers to be part of a broad network of coordinated health care organizations including health providers, payers and other related health entities.
The parties have agreed to enter into exclusive negotiations with the intent of signing a non-binding Letter of Intent to transfer ownership of Saint Clare’s Health System to Ascension Health Care Network. Terms of the agreement will be negotiated and it is expected that a Definitive Agreement will be reached by June 30, 2012, with the transaction closing scheduled before the end of the calendar year.
Ascension Health Care Network has committed to maintain Saint Clare’s Health System Catholic identity and honor its legacy.
The transfer will require approvals from Catholic Health Initiatives, federal, state and Church authorities.
Ascension Health is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension Health, which provided more than $1 billion in care of persons who are poor and community benefit last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Its Mission-focused Health Ministries employ 113,000 associates serving in more than 500 locations in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Ascension Health Care Network is a joint venture with Oak Hill Capital Partners that provides an alternative funding source for the acquisition of Catholic hospitals and other health care provider entities. Catholic Health Initiatives is a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Englewood, Colo. The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 76 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health services organizations; two accredited nursing colleges; and home health agencies. In fiscal year 2011, CHI provided more than $612 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With annual revenues of more than $10.5 billion, CHI is the nation's second-largest Catholic health care system. Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with more than $8.2 billion of committed capital from leading entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Over a period of more than 24 years, the professionals at Oak Hill Capital Partners and its predecessors have invested in more than 60 significant private equity transactions. Oak Hill Capital Partners is one of several Oak Hill partnerships, each of which has a dedicated and independent management team. These Oak Hill partnerships comprise over $30 billion of investment capital across multiple asset classes. For more information about Oak Hill Capital Partners, please visit www.oakhillcapital.com. Saint Clare’s Health System, which has served the healthcare needs of northwestern New Jersey residents since 1895, is the region’s premier provider of community-based healthcare and behavioral health services. Saint Clare’s operates hospitals in Boonton Township, Denville, Dover and Sussex Borough and other facilities located throughout Morris and Sussex counties.
(St. Louis) November 16, 2011 - Ascension Health Care Network (AHCN) announced today that Molly O’Neill has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer, effective Jan. 2, 2012. In this capacity, O’Neill will support and partner with the AHCN leadership team in guiding the company’s development initiatives.
“Molly’s outstanding talent and abilities make her the ideal executive to lead the growth and development of Ascension Health Care Network,” said Leo P. Brideau, FACHE, President and CEO of AHCN. “Her experience helping to grow and build organizations through joint ventures, acquisitions, strategic alliances and partnerships will be invaluable to our organization as we move forward. She is a consummate professional who shares our core values and we are extremely pleased to have her on our team.”
O’Neill brings more than 26 years of healthcare experience to AHCN. Since 2004, she has held a number of positions with Duke Medicine in Durham, N.C. Most recently, she was Chief Strategic Planning Officer, Vice President for Business Development and Vice Chancellor for Integrated Planning. Prior to Duke, she was with Partners HealthCare in Boston and Gambro Healthcare, Inc., in Washington, D.C.
Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, Board Chair of AHCN and President and CEO of Ascension Health said, “The Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome Molly to AHCN. She has a proven track record of helping to lead complex, integrated healthcare organizations in diverse markets while creating cultures of quality and safety. Molly is a highly-respected professional in the healthcare industry and her strong network of relationships around the country will help her further the strategic goals and interests of AHCN.”
“I am proud to be joining AHCN and look forward to working with Leo and his team, as well as the Board, to help chart a course for its future,” said O’Neill. “This is an exciting opportunity to bring my healthcare experience in planning, collaboration, program development and joint ventures to an organization that is rooted in the values of service, creativity, wisdom, reverence and integrity.”
O’Neill holds a Master of Science in Health Care Administration from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Science, Journalism, from the School of Mass Communication at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ascension Health Care Network opens for business
By JUDITH VANDEWATER
Ascension Health has teamed with a private equity firm to create a new type of enterprise: an acquisitive, equity-based, for-profit Catholic health care system.
The company, Ascension Health Care Network, has the audacious goal of securing a stable future for equity-starved Catholic hospitals and health systems. Publicly launched late last month, it will grow through the acquisition of Catholic hospitals and networks. Nonprofit Catholic facilities acquired by the joint venture will retain their Catholic identity, although they will be converted to for-profit entities... (Read More)
Ascension Health may have raised eyebrows in the Catholic healthcare world last week by forming a new for-profit health system, but industry experts say they hardly expect that to be the last such... (Read More.)
Please Note: this article does requires a Print Magazine subscription.
Tony Tersigni, president and CEO of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, wanted to buy Caritas Christi Health Care.
But instead, the Boston-based chain of Catholic hospitals was sold last year to New York private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management for $900 million.
That’s when Tersigni, who heads the nation’s largest Catholic hospital system with $15 billion in revenue, came up with a unique way to buy struggling Catholic health systems and hospitals. He decided Ascension should form a first-of-its-kind joint venture with private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners of Menlo Park, Calif... (Read More)
St. Louis Business Journal February 22, 2011
St. Louis hospital system Ascension Health and private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners have signed an agreement to form Ascension Health Care Network, a joint venture that will provide an alternative funding source for the acquisition of Catholic hospitals and other health-care providers... (Read More)
Modern Healthcare – Cover Story February 21, 2011 by Joe Carlson
Catholic hospitals care for one of every six inpatients in the U.S., but mounting financial pressures are forcing many of them into deals that may feel like Faustian bargains that pit their Catholic identities against their ability to survive.
Private-equity firms and secular health systems have shown a keen interest in buying up Catholic hospitals to keep their doors open, but the trend has raised concerns that the Catholic social mission cannot square with secular owners' interest in profits.
Now a new for-profit joint venture between Catholic giant Ascension Health and private-equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners intends to offer a new option: ownership by a for-profit Catholic healthcare system...(Read More)
Ascension Health Forms Joint Venture with Oak Hill Capital Partners
Innovative Partnership Offers New Resources for Hospitals
(St. Louis) February 21, 2011 – Ascension Health and Oak Hill Capital Partners (Oak Hill Capital) have signed an agreement to form Ascension Health Care Network (AHCN), a joint venture that will provide an alternative funding source for the acquisition of Catholic hospitals and other healthcare provider entities. AHCN will offer these entities access to financial, operational and clinical resources. The terms of the transaction are confidential.
“We are enthusiastic about this partnership and look forward to working with Ascension Health as this new venture moves forward,” said Charles Patton, a Partner at Oak Hill Capital. “Ascension Health is the nation’s third largest healthcare system, with an established track record of providing high standards of care through its strong network of more than 500 hospital affiliates and health facilities across the country, and for delivering leading patient outcomes across different specialties.”
Patton continued, “For example, among Ascension Health’s areas of particular strength is its commitment to clinical excellence. The neonatal mortality rates at Ascension Health hospitals are 89 percent lower than the national average, and the rate of birth trauma is 65 percent lower. Further, the rate for pressure ulcers at Ascension Health facilities is 94 percent lower than the national average – and these are just some of the many areas of exceptional care the hospital system provides.”
Dr. Anthony R. Tersigni, President and CEO of Ascension Health, said, “Hospitals across the country are facing many difficulties in the current economic climate – including evolving clinical requirements and the need to keep pace with technological innovations. These challenges ring true for many Catholic hospitals. This agreement with Oak Hill Capital will provide an innovative solution for those hospitals to move forward with the resources and expertise they need to survive and thrive. In addition, they’ll be able to maintain their Catholic identity.”
Sr. Maureen McGuire, DC, Senior Vice President of Mission Integration for Ascension Health, said, “We are fortunate to have experience in coupling efficient operations with outstanding clinical outcomes in person-centered care and can share a unique blend of experts, resources and best practices with other hospitals. A recent Thomson Reuters study showed that people receive higher quality care at Catholic hospitals. By forming Ascension Health Care Network, we are providing an innovative, alternative funding source to help Catholic providers to continue their healing mission.”
Leo P. Brideau, FACHE, will serve as President and CEO of the new venture. Brideau was formerly President and CEO of Columbia St. Mary’s, Milwaukee, and also served as the Wisconsin/Missouri Ministry Market Leader for Ascension Health.
About Ascension Health
Ascension Health is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension Health, which provided more than $1 billion in care of persons who are poor and community benefit last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Its Mission-focused Health Ministries employ 113,000 associates serving in more than 500 locations in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
About Oak Hill Capital Partners
Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm with more than $8.2 billion of committed capital from leading entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Over a period of more than 24 years, the professionals at Oak Hill Capital Partners and its predecessors have invested in more than 60 significant private equity transactions. Oak Hill Capital Partners is one of several Oak Hill partnerships, each of which has a dedicated and independent management team. These Oak Hill partnerships comprise over $30 billion of investment capital across multiple asset classes. For more information about Oak Hill Capital Partners, please visit www.oakhillcapital.com.
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