Ascension Michigan's Northern region locations in Saginaw, Tawas and Standish are set to join Midland-based MyMichigan Health pending standard regulatory and other required third-party approvals.
If approved, Ascension St. Mary's of Saginaw, a 268-bed acute care inpatient facility; Ascension St. Mary's Towne Center, an ambulatory surgery center, wound care center, emergency department and short stay unit facility; Ascension St. Joseph in Tawas, a 47-bed acute inpatient facility; and Ascension St. Mary's of Standish, a 25-bed critical access hospital and 29-bed skilled nursing facility, will join MyMichigan Health this summer, according to a joint March 26 news release announcing a definitive agreement. Related care sites and related physician practices of Ascension Medical Group are also included.
Ascension Michigan, the Michigan division of St. Louis-based Ascension, includes 16 hospitals and hundreds of related healthcare facilities that together employ nearly 20,000 workers. MyMichigan Health is a nine-hospital system with more than 10,600 employees, volunteers, and physicians and other personnel, according to its website.
"Our organizations share many common values and, together, we are committed to working closely to ensure high-quality health care is available to all of the communities we serve," Lydia Watson, MD, president and CEO of MyMichigan Health, said in the release. "This agreement expands MyMichigan's commitment and purpose in Creating Healthy Communities — Together, while building on Ascension Michigan's already strong heritage of providing personalized and compassionate care, with the benefit of added quaternary care through our relationship with Michigan Medicine."
Jordan Jeon, interim regional president and CEO of Ascension Michigan's Northern region and chief strategy officer at Ascension Michigan, said in the release: "Ascension St. Mary's, Ascension St. Joseph and Ascension Standish have been committed to our mission of serving all persons, with special attention to those who are most vulnerable. As a regional provider, MyMichigan Health is well positioned to carry on this legacy, serving the community through an integrated care delivery system. This transition will ensure that Saginaw, Tawas City and Standish have sustainable, quality healthcare access long into the future."