Minn. health system merger complete, largest in Twin Cities in decade

A merger of two health systems in Minnesota completed Tuesday creates a health care organization in the Twin Cities with 20,000 employees and 1,500 doctors.

(St. Paul) Pioneer Press: HealthPartners, Park Nicolette Complete Merger
HealthPartners and Park Nicollet Health Services completed their agreement to merge organizations Tuesday, Jan. 1, formally creating an organization of 20,000 employees and 1,500 physicians. The combination, which was announced in August, is the largest seen in the Twin Cities health care market in at least a decade (Ashenmacher, 1/1).

Modern Healthcare: HealthPartners, Park Nicollet Complete Merger
HealthPartners, Bloomington, Minn., has completed its merger with Park Nicollet Health Services, St. Louis Park, Minn., in a deal that will unite the systems under the HealthPartners name and a single board of directors. No money changed hands in the transaction, the systems said after the deal was announced in August. A news release described the new organization as an "integrated healthcare and financing organization" that will allow the two systems to collaborate on areas ranging from patient care to capital investments (Kutscher, 1/1).

In the meantime, a fight over control of a large hospital in California brews --

Los Angeles Times: Battle To Control St. John's Hospital Seems Far From Over
Amid a nationwide wave of health care mergers, a deal was brewing this fall to sell St. John's Health Center, a storied Santa Monica hospital founded by Catholic nuns and befriended by Hollywood stars. Then, without notice, late last month the hospital's out-of-town owner ousted the top executives, fired most of the directors and thrust into public view a long-simmering debate about the hospital's future (Terhune, 12/25).