Ascension Selling Three Northern Michigan Hospitals

Last October, Detroit-based Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan signed an agreement to enter a joint venture to merge eight Ascension southeast Michigan hospitals and Genesys healthcare facilities and assets with Henry Ford’s. Now Ascension has signed an agreement to sell three northern Michigan hospitals to MyMichigan Health. 

Under the agreement, Ascension Michigan’s locations in Saginaw, Tawas and Standish will become part of MyMichigan Health.

“Our organizations share many common values and, together, we are committed to working closely to ensure high-quality health care is available to all of the communities we serve,” said Lydia Watson, M.D., president and CEO of nonprofit MyMichigan Health, in a statement. 

Headquartered in Midland, the organization serves 25 counties, with medical centers in Alma, Alpena, Clare, Gladwin, Midland, Mt. Pleasant, Sault Ste. Marie and West Branch,
St. Louis-based Ascension operates more than 2,600 healthcare sites in 19 states and Washington, D.C., including 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities.

“This agreement expands MyMichigan’s commitment and purpose in Creating Healthy Communities – Together, while building on Ascension Michigan’s already strong heritage of providing personalized and compassionate care, with the benefit of added quaternary care through our relationship with Michigan Medicine, Watson added.

Ascension St. Mary’s of Saginaw, a 268-bed acute care inpatient facility; Ascension St. Mary’s Towne Center, an ambulatory surgery center, wound care center, emergency department and short stay unit facility; Ascension St. Joseph in Tawas, a 47-bed acute inpatient facility, and Ascension St. Mary’s of Standish, a 25-bed critical access hospital and 29-bed skilled nursing facility will join MyMichigan Health. This also includes all related sites of care and related physician practices of Ascension Medical Group.

“Ascension St. Mary’s, Ascension St. Joseph and Ascension Standish have been committed to our mission of serving all persons, with special attention to those who are most vulnerable. As a regional provider, MyMichigan Health is well positioned to carry on this legacy, serving the community through an integrated care delivery system,” said Jordan Jeon, interim regional president & CEO, Ascension Michigan’s Northern Region and chief strategy officer, Ascension Michigan, in a statement. “This transition will ensure that Saginaw, Tawas City and Standish have sustainable, quality healthcare access long into the future.”

The transaction is expected to close this summer, subject to regulatory approvals.