Exeter Hospital signs deal with Beth Israel Lahey: Here's what must happen next

Patrick Cronin, Portsmouth Herald
·3 min read

EXETER — Exeter Health Resources has signed a definitive agreement to join Beth Israel Lahey Health in Massachusetts.

"The opportunity for Exeter to join with BILH is an important, responsible step towards ensuring our long-term sustainability while advancing healthcare on the local level here in New Hampshire,” said Kevin Callahan, president and CEO of Exeter Health Resources, Inc. “I am confident that our proposed relationship would result in greater access to healthcare services, more patient choice, and a significant advancement in affordable and sustainable healthcare for all of New Hampshire."

The main entrance to Exeter Hospital on Alumni Drive.
The main entrance to Exeter Hospital on Alumni Drive.

The signing of the definitive agreement last week, which outlines the terms under which Exeter would join with BILH, builds on the letter of intent signed in March. The proposed transaction will now go before state and federal regulatory review, which is expected to take a number of months.

Previous story: Exeter Hospital, Beth Israel Lahey deal could mean $375M investment in Seacoast

Terms of the deal

Under the proposed terms of the affiliation, Beth Israel Lahey Health would become the sole corporate member of Exeter Health Resources, which includes Exeter Hospital, Core Physicians and Rockingham Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice.

Exeter Health Resources' structure will stay the same and remain as a not-for-profit. The local board will continue to oversee ongoing operations, reviewing and recommending strategic plans and operating and capital budgets as well as philanthropy and community benefit funding.

"The opportunity for Exeter to join with BILH is an important, responsible step towards ensuring our long-term sustainability while advancing healthcare on the local level here in New Hampshire,” said Kevin Callahan, president and CEO of Exeter Health Resources, Inc.
"The opportunity for Exeter to join with BILH is an important, responsible step towards ensuring our long-term sustainability while advancing healthcare on the local level here in New Hampshire,” said Kevin Callahan, president and CEO of Exeter Health Resources, Inc.

As part of the deal, Beth Israel Lahey Health will maintain and grow access to clinical services in Exeter Health Resources, making an overall $375 million capital investment over 10 years.

Exeter Health Resources will also have one representative on the Beth Israel Lahey Health board for six years.

“Exeter has been an integral part of the New Hampshire community for more than 125 years, and together we can build on that legacy of service and excellence for many years to come,” said Kevin Tabb, president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health.
“Exeter has been an integral part of the New Hampshire community for more than 125 years, and together we can build on that legacy of service and excellence for many years to come,” said Kevin Tabb, president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health.

Like Exeter, Beth Israel Lahey Health is not-for-profit. It consists of 13 hospitals, 25 major ambulatory facilities with 35,000 employees and operating revenue of $6.2 billion.

Callahan said the affiliation will allow Exeter Health Resources to become "cost-efficient" and offer "more value where every single dollar is spent on health care."

Kevin Tabb, president and CEO of Beth Israel Lahey Health, said in May he believes the combination of Exeter Health Resources and Beth Israel Lahey Health will be "transformative."

The proposed transaction includes expanding and locally delivering in New Hampshire, a full continuum of clinical services, including behavioral healthcare.

“Exeter has been an integral part of the New Hampshire community for more than 125 years, and together we can build on that legacy of service and excellence for many years to come,” said Tabb.

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The next steps

The next step in making the proposed affiliation a reality is to gain state and federal regulatory approval. It needs approval by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, the Office of Charitable Trusts, the state of Massachusetts and the Federal Trade Commission.

Callahan said Beth Israel Lahey Health has "deep experience" in securing complex regulatory approvals noting their 2019 merger between Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health.

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The new potential affiliation comes a little more than a year after Exeter Hospital's potential merger with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and its parent company Mass General Brigham officially fell through after the New Hampshire Attorney General announced opposition to the merger in 2019 because of antitrust concerns.

The merger under Mass General Brigham would have brought the not-for-profit Exeter Hospital under the same leadership as Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in nearby Dover, which was acquired by MGH in 2017.

Officials are optimistic they won't run into the same regulatory hurdles they did with MGH.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter Hospital takes big step to join Beth Israel Lahey: What's next