ST. LOUIS — SSM Health is acquiring the SLUCare Physician Group from Saint Louis University, a move which executives said will provide patients with “improved and seamless access to all levels of care.”
Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close this summer, were not released by the two Catholic organizations. SLU and SSM have reached an agreement in principle and the next step is to continue negotiations and sign definitive agreements within two weeks.
Once the deal is final, SLUCare will become an academic physician division within SSM Health-St. Louis, boosting its number of providers to 1,200 in the region.
Patients of SLUCare will experience no disruption in their health care providers or location of healthcare services, according to SLU and SSM Health
“We’re focused on how do we get patients better care, simplified care and more coordinated access to care,” said Jeremy Fotheringham, regional president of SSM Health.
The sale of SLUCare will generate a “significant investment” in the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, enabling it to expand clinical research, medical training and education facilities in the region, said Dr. Christine Jacobs, the School’s dean and vice president of medical affairs.
Integrating an academic practice into a health care system has become common across the nation in recent years, including at Harvard University and Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, Jacobs added.
SSM Health, SLUCare and the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have partnered for decades at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital and most recently, at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital.
“We’ve worked together so closely for so long that when we were thinking about how to be more effective together, we realized a total integration was the best way to go,” Jacobs said.
The integration of SLUCare into SSM Health-St. Louis will provide patients with improved and access to all levels of care, from primary care and preventive services to highly specialized procedures and clinical trials, Jacobs said. SLUCare’s 1,700 faculty and staff members, and 600 residents, will become part of SSM Health-St. Louis, she said.
Read the rest of the story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
