OhioHealth acquires second hospital in a week, will oversee 14 total

Max Filby, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
A sign is shown outside an OhioHealth Primary Care Physicians office. OhioHealth announced Thursday it will acquire Van Wert Health in Van Wert, Ohio. The acquisition would make Van Wert Health OhioHealth's 14th hospital.
A sign is shown outside an OhioHealth Primary Care Physicians office. OhioHealth announced Thursday it will acquire Van Wert Health in Van Wert, Ohio. The acquisition would make Van Wert Health OhioHealth's 14th hospital.

Fourteen hospitals will fall under the OhioHealth umbrella heading into the new year as the health care provider acquires yet another hospital.

Van Wert Health's 34-bed hospital, four outpatient centers and physician practices, and nearly 500 physicians, clinicians, nurses, staff and associates will become part of OhioHealth, according to a joint announcement Thursday. The board of each health system voted Dec. 14 to make the move official.

It's become common for smaller hospitals to merge with larger health systems, and this one makes sense for both Van Wert Health and OhioHealth, said John McWhorter, OhioHealth senior vice president and chief operating officer.

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In the coming months, OhioHealth will begin the process of merging its operations with Van Wert Health. McWhorter said he anticipates being able to add some services to the Van Wert hospital that aren't already available there.

"We still believe that care is best delivered close to home, and they've done a nice job of that," McWhorter said.

Van Wert Health would be OhioHealth's first acquisition on the far western side of Ohio near Indiana, McWhorter said. Although it will bring with it a new region of patients for OhioHealth, he said, he anticipates many people in need of major procedures in Van Wert might opt to drive to the closer Fort Wayne, Indiana, rather than Columbus.

McWhorter declined to say how much the Van Wert Health acquisition cost OhioHealth.

Van Wert Health Hospital, which is about a two-hour drive northwest of Columbus, has served patients in northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana for more than 100 years. In 2019 and 2022, Van Wert Health Hospital was named one of the top 100 rural and community hospitals in the United States by the Chartis Center for Rural Health, according to a new release.

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“Van Wert Health is a natural fit for OhioHealth, as we share similar culture and values,” Bruce Hagen, president of OhioHealth's regional hospitals, said in a prepared statement. “We’re also impressed by their modern facilities, strong team of providers and associates and their unwavering commitment to providing quality care."

The announcement about Van Wert Health is the second of its kind in a week from OhioHealth.

Guernsey Health Systems, which includes Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center in Cambridge, became OhioHealth’s 13th hospital last week. The hospital has been renamed OhioHealth Southeastern Medical Center as part of the membership agreement.

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Although the announcements about the two hospital acquisitions came a week apart, McWhorter said, OhioHealth had been working with Guernsey Health Systems for years on plans to add it to OhioHealth.

mfilby@dispatch.com

@MaxFilby

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OhioHealth will now run hospitals in Van Wert and Cambridge