Duluth-based St. Luke’s plans to merge with Aspirus Health, a nonprofit health system that operates in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The new system will contain 19 hospitals, 130 outpatient locations and nearly 14,000 staff, according to the release, and will serve “residents of northeastern Minnesota, northern and central Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”
“Evolving community needs require us to find new and innovative approaches to delivering care. The strength of Aspirus Health will enable St. Luke’s to accelerate investment in our communities and expand our impact faster than we can on our own,” said Eric Lohn, co-president and co-CEO of St. Luke’s. “Joining with Aspirus Health will benefit our patients, our staff and our broader network. It will bring new ideas and build a best-in-class care network that people can count on for generations to come.”
According to the announcement on Aspirus Health’s website, the merger will allow both entities to expand services “that are vital for the region and rural communities.” The organization said the merger will have “no impact on patients, the physicians they see or care facilities where they receive care at either organization.”
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“We welcome the opportunity to expand into Minnesota with St. Luke’s and look forward to learning from one another and building upon our collective strengths to benefit our teams and patients,” said Matthew Heywood, Aspirus Health president and CEO in the release.
The announcement comes after a year of other merger announcements across the state. Last October, Essentia Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System announced they were engaging in merger talks. A month later, Fairview Health Services and Sanford Health announced their intent to merge, an announcement that has been met with criticism from lawmakers, union leaders and others.
During the session, Minnesota lawmakers passed legislation giving additional oversight on certain health care mergers to the state attorney general and the health commissioner, including requiring notice of the planned combination.
In a statement, Deputy Chief of Staff John Stiles at the attorney general’s office said they will “review the transaction” noting that companies have 60 days before the closing date to supply information about the proposed merger. Officials at St. Luke’s said it has shared the letter of intent and additional context with the AG’s office.
In a statement, officials at the Minnesota Department of Health said that they “learned of the proposed merger between St. Luke’s Duluth and Aspirus Health this morning along with everyone else,” and that “under the newly enacted healthcare transactions review law, MDH’s role is to review information about the transaction to provide consultation to the Attorney General.”