ST. LOUIS — Two of the largest health systems in Missouri announced their plan to come together to form an integrated, statewide system.
BJC HealthCare of St. Louis and Saint Luke's Health System of Kansas City said they approved a non-binding letter of intent to create the new group. The announcement said the systems hope the move will create "the premier Midwest destination for patient care, clinical research and medical education."
“Together with Saint Luke’s, we have an exciting opportunity to reinforce our commitment to providing extraordinary care to Missourians and our neighboring communities,” BJC HealthCare President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Liekweg said in the press release. “Amid the rapidly changing health care landscape, this is the right time to build on our established relationship with Saint Luke’s."
The release said the move would bring improvements for patients, health care workers and researchers. Patients would gain access to additional services and providers, healthcare workers would get greater investment in tools, training and technology, and researchers would get expanded access to clinical trials aimed at accelerating innovation in patient care.
The organizations are still working on some details and hope to have a final agreement by the end of the year. The letter was unanimously approved by both boards of directors.
The press release said both BJC and Saint Luke's will continue to operate under existing brands, and dual headquarters will be located in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Liekweg would be the CEO of the integrated health system, and the board chair would come from Saint Luke's, the release said.
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