The hospitals and other healthcare providers that are members of MaineHealth in Portland, Maine, will combine into one nonprofit entity beginning Jan. 1.
The new entity will have more than $3 billion in revenue and approximately 19,000 employees.
The deal is yet another example of massive consolidation across the hospital and health system space.
The members of MaineHealth include Maine Medical Center, Southern Maine Health Care, LincolnHealth, Coastal Healthcare Alliance, Western Maine Health, Franklin Community Health Network and Maine Behavioral Healthcare. They will all be governed under a single board of trustees beginning in 2019.
Final approval of the plan was reached earlier in October, according to MaineHealth.
“Getting all our local boards to agree on a plan that allows us to come together as one was not easy, but it was worthwhile,” Susannah Swihart, chair of the MaineHealth board, said in a statement.
One member, Memorial Hospital, located in North Conway, New Hampshire, will not join the entity right away due to “regulatory issues in New Hampshire,” according to the announcement. Two other non-hospital members are not unifying due to the unique scope of the services they provide.
The combined entity could help bring financial stability and alleviate issues related to rural resources across the healthcare system.
“But it’s more than just financial resources that can flow across the system,” William Caron, president of MaineHealth, said in a statement. “Clinical and operational expertise will also flow more easily across the system. For example, unification will help us to address the shortage of physicians and other clinicians in rural areas by more easily sharing staff across the system.”
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."