Trinity Health Completes MercyOne Acquisition

Trinity Health has completed its acquisition of MercyOne Health, expanding its hospice footprint in Iowa. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Trinity Health in April signed a definitive agreement with CommonSpirit Health to acquire MercyOne. CommonSpirit was born of a joint operating agreement between Trinity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives.

“With MercyOne now fully part of Trinity Health, we are a stronger and more unified system that will strengthen MercyOne’s ability to serve our patients, colleagues, and communities,” said Trinity Health President and CEO Mike Slubowski in an announcement. “Health care providers across the country continue to face unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-pandemic, but together, we are stronger.”

Trinity Health is a large, faith-based nonprofit health care system headquartered in Michigan that employs roughly 26,000 clinicians. The health system provides care across 25 states, operating 88 hospitals, 131 continuing care locations and 125 urgent care sites nationwide. Its services include home health, hospice and PACE programs. The health system’s annual operating revenue hovers around $20.2 billion.

MercyOne will retain its name and brand following the deal’s close. This is part of an integration strategy designed to maintain some continuity for current patients and the community, according to the company announcement.

“Today’s closing further advances MercyOne’s vision to provide a personalized and radically convenient care experience for Iowans and neighboring communities,” said Bob Ritz, MercyOne president and CEO, in the announcement. “We are delighted to become a full member of the Trinity Health family, which will further our goal to be a more strongly connected system of health services.”

Integration activity such as regulatory filings and other legal and financial processes are underway

The deal includes MercyOne’s hospice, infusion and home care locations.

Established in 1998, MercyOne’s health system consists of 16 medical centers, 27 affiliate organizations and more than 420 care sites, employing 2,000 physicians and care providers who serve upwards of 3.3 million patients annually.

Trinity Health has served communities in Iowa for roughly 25 years, according to Slubowski.

The health system has been on a growth trajectory in the state. Earlier this year Trinity Health acquired Iowa-based Above & Beyond Home Health Care and Hospice for an undisclosed sum.

Trinity has prioritized transactions in the Hawkeye State in response to growing demand for serious illness and hospice care, the company indicated.

Iowa’s aging population is the main driver for this swelling need. Seniors are projected to comprise 27% of the state’s overall population by 2030, a rise from 17.5% currently, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hospice utilization runs high in Iowa compared to other states. In 2018 it ranked seventh nationwide for hospice utilization among Medicare decedents at 56.2%, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Utah held the highest rate that year at 60.5%.

More acquisitions are likely for Trinity.

Trinity Health At Home, the health system’s home health and hospice service division, has plans to be more aggressive in a “hyper-competitive” acquisition marketplace this year, Mark McPherson, its president and CEO, told Hospice News sister publication Home Health Care News.

It is particularly focused on expanding its private-duty business and “seriously looking” to acquire about a half dozen of those agencies.