From staff reports
Clarion Healthcare System and Butler Health System have signed a definitive agreement to integrate CHS and its affiliates, including Clarion Hospital, into Butler Health System, according to a joint news release.
The systems had signed a letter of intent in February after the CHS board’s selection process. Since then, the two systems have studied each other’s assets and liabilities, operations, and financial performance, according to the release.
With due diligence substantially completed and the definitive agreement executed, the proposed transaction will now be sent to regulatory authorities for review and approval, the release said. Authorities include, without limitation, the state Attorney General’s Office and state Department of Health.
The release said the proposed transaction will build upon the strengths of CHS and BHS.
By working with BHS, the release said, CHS will be in a stronger position to make strategic investments in new programs, services and technology, all in effort to keep quality care close to the community.
The systems
Clarion Healthcare System
Clarion Healthcare System is composed of four affiliates: Clarion Hospital, Health Services of Clarion Inc., Clarion Development Corporation Inc. and Clarion Hospital Foundation, all in Clarion.
Clarion Hospital, a licensed 70-bed community hospital, provides a 24-hour emergency department, and includes an eight-bed, inpatient rehab center; women’s health and birthing services; advanced wound-healing hyperbaric center; sleep lab; ICU; and a Cancer Center offering chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Butler Health System
Butler Health System, located in Butler, is the parent of Butler Memorial Hospital, its affiliates and a number of subsidiaries. Butler Memorial Hospital is a 326-bed, acute-care facility with a broad range of surgical, medical, emergency and psychiatric services.
Butler Health System employs 200 physicians and advanced providers through Butler Medical Providers. BHS includes 72 outpatient locations across eight counties in western Pennsylvania and employs more than 2,500 people.
In 2018, Butler Memorial Hospital was named among “100 Top Hospitals in the United States” by IBM Watson Health and as one of the top cardiac surgery programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
Butler Health System has a number of partnerships throughout western Pennsylvania, including Bridges Health Partners, Benbrook Ambulatory Surgery Center, UPMC Cancer Center, Concordia Visiting Nurses and Good Samaritan Hospice, and LIFE Butler County/Lutheran Senior Services.