Ascension said on Sept. 28 that it signed definitive agreements to sell its Lourdes Health in Pasco, Wash., and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Idaho, to RCCH HealthCare Partners. Terms were not disclosed.
Robert Henkel, president and chief executive of Ascension Healthcare, said in a statement that RCCH HealthCare Partners is known for building strong local health care systems and has values that align with those of Ascension.
St. Louis-based Ascension said during the summer of 2015 that it planned to sell the two regional health care systems to Capella Healthcare, a for-profit based in Franklin, Tenn. In May, Capella and RegionalCare Hospital Partners, both privately owned companies, merged to become RCCH HealthCare Partners based in Brentwood, Tenn., according to a news release. RCCH HealthCare Partners provides health care in 17 regional markets, including in McMinnville, Ore., and Olympia, Wash.
Both Ascension and RCCH HealthCare Partners said they support "maintaining the hospitals' faith-based heritages." Additional details on the structures of the hospitals moving forward were not released.
Lourdes Health includes Lourdes Medical Center, an acute care medical center in Pasco; Lourdes Counseling Center, a behavioral health hospital in Richland, Wash.; and a network with primary care and specialty clinics and outpatient services. St. Joseph Regional Medical Center says it is the largest full-service medical center between Boise, Idaho, and Spokane, Wash.