As Catholic Health World went to press, St. Louis-based Ascension Health Care Network and Ascension Health were pursuing partnerships in the northeastern U.S.
Ascension Health Care Network is in discussions with St. Joseph's Healthcare System in Paterson, N.J., and St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, N.J., "regarding the potential creation of a new Catholic health care system in New Jersey," according to Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the Ascension Health Care Network.
The Ascension Health system created the Ascension Health Care Network about a year ago with the Oak Hill Capital Partners equity firm to acquire equity-starved nonprofit Catholic hospitals and health systems and convert them into for-profit, Catholic organizations. This is the network's first public confirmation of talks with specific partners.
The Paterson system includes the 651-bed St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center and its St. Joseph's Children's Hospital; the 229-bed St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital of Wayne, N.J.; and St. Vincent's Nursing Home of Cedar Grove, N.J., with a capacity for 151 residents. St. Mary's Hospital is a 287-bed hospital. Both the Paterson and Passaic ministries are sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth of Convent Station, N.J.
Also at Catholic Health World's deadline, newspaper reports identified the Ascension Health system as a potential partner for the 263-bed St. Joseph Medical Center of Towson, Md.
St. Joseph, which is part of Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, had issued a request for proposal to selected Maryland health care providers in October, for a partner with whom it could "form a strategic relationship to enhance the quality of care and breadth of services to the people and communities it serves," according to a release St. Joseph issued at the time.
St. Joseph's board met on Jan. 19 and narrowed the number of potential partners to three. According to a statement, no final decisions have been made. The Baltimore Sun reported Feb. 1, though, that several sources had said the candidates are Ascension Health, LifeBridge Health and the University of Maryland Medical System. Ascension Health owns Saint Agnes Hospital of Baltimore. St. Joseph would not confirm the newspaper's reports due to confidentiality concerns.
In a statement, St. Joseph said that "maintaining St. Joseph's Catholic identity was one of the guiding principles when we issued the RFP … (and) Catholic identity continues to be foremost in our consideration. All of the (RFP respondents), including the selected providers, agreed to honor St. Joseph's Catholic identity."
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