Atlantic Health, Saint Peter's Healthcare announce merger plans

Saint Peter's Healthcare and Atlantic Health have signed an agreement to integrate the two health care systems, the institutions announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes less than 20 months after Saint Peter's, faced with anti-trust action from the federal government, abandoned similar plans to partner with RWJBarnabas Health.

Under terms of the agreement, Atlantic Health System would make significant investments in Saint Peter’s Healthcare, and the two systems would work collaboratively to transition Saint Peter’s onto Atlantic Health’s electronic medical record system.

Saint Peter’s would continue its Catholic mission and abide by the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, according to the agreement.

“For the past several years, Saint Peter’s has engaged in a Discernment Process, with the support of The Most Reverend James F. Checchio, Bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen, and Saint Peter’s Board of Governors, to determine the best course for our long-term future," Leslie D. Hirsch, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, said in a statement announcing the agreement. "The most critical objective has been to find a path to secure our Catholic mission of serving the community, especially the most vulnerable, as we have done for more than 116 years.

"The hospital industry has substantially transformed over the past 10 years, and we remain the only single-hospital health system in Middlesex County and one of the few remaining in New Jersey," Hirsch continued. "Although Saint Peter’s is stronger today than ever, throughout this journey it has become clear that to assure our future success, we need a strategic partner whose resources, capabilities and values are aligned with our mission. We are very excited about the prospect of becoming a part of Atlantic Health as it has an excellent reputation for being a high-quality healthcare provider and our respective cultures are very well aligned.”

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Both organizations will be working toward a definitive agreement in the coming months, according to the announcement. Approvals will be necessary from state and federal officials as well as the Catholic Church before the transaction can be completed.

“Today is the first step on an exciting path towards a joining of talents between Saint Peter’s and Atlantic Health System that will benefit the health and well-being of the people of New Jersey,” Brian Gragnolati, president and CEO of Atlantic Health System, stated. “We are thrilled to partner with Saint Peter's to ensure that high quality, affordable and accessible care remains available to all who need it.”

"Through this new strategic partnership, Saint Peter’s would remain a Catholic institution … as a full-service provider of acute healthcare services for New Brunswick and the greater Middlesex County community," Bishop Checchio said in a separate statement. "It is expected that the strength of Atlantic Health, with its greater clinical and financial resources and capabilities, will help Saint Peter’s to further evolve, advancing a high-quality, efficient, and comprehensive healthcare system in Central New Jersey, ensuring Saint Peter’s continues its Catholic mission of care for the whole human person."

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RWJBarnabas Health was set to acquire Saint Peter's Healthcare System but both organizations mutually decided not to consummate the merger in 2022 after "thorough evaluations."

The month prior, the Federal Trade Commission voted unanimously to take action to block the merger because, according to FTC Bureau of Competition Director Holly Vedova, “there is overwhelming evidence that this acquisition would be bad for patients, because the parties would no longer have to compete to provide the lowest prices and the best quality and service.”

That partnership would’ve given the combined health care system a market share of approximately 50 percent for general acute care services in Middlesex County as a whole, easily resulting in a presumption of harm under the antitrust laws, according to the FTC.

Saint Peter’s Healthcare is a nonprofit headquartered in New Brunswick that operates an independent hospital with 478 beds and a state-designated children’s hospital and regional perinatal center.

Atlantic Health System is a nonprofit with a workforce of 20,000 team members and 5,440 affiliated physicians serving more than half of New Jersey with 550 sites of care, including seven hospitals.

Email: sloyer@gannettnj.com

Susan Loyer covers Middlesex County and more for MyCentralJersey.com. To get unlimited access to her work, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Atlantic Health, Saint Peter's Healthcare merger plans announced