Virtua Health May Acquire Lourdes Health System

On Mar 8, 2018

The southern New Jersey region may see a massive healthcare merger with Virtua Health possibly acquiring Lourdes Health System – although it should be stressed that no definitive deal has been reached, and that the activity is driven by a “non-binding letter of intent.” In broad terms, hospitals throughout New Jersey and the nation are striving to improve patient care and reduce costs by achieving economies of scale and implementing metrics-driven healthcare quality, as well as a range of related techniques. Institutions are adapting themselves to aspects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as coping with pressures from charity care, for example.

If the merger is completed, Virtua’s three hospitals would potentially merge with Lourdes two hospitals. A Virtua statement reads, “The parties hope that they will be able to complete this transaction, which has the potential to achieve great benefits for healthcare in South Jersey. Further review is underway; there is no final agreement.”

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns letter grades of A to F to more than 2,600 US hospitals twice a year, and – among other institutions – Virtua was awarded an “A” in 2017.  Additionally, patients rate southern New Jersey provider Virtua Voorhees Hospital so highly that it is among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the country to receive the Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award for Patient Satisfaction. Virtua Voorhees has earned the honor, recently renamed the Pinnacle of Excellence Award, for five consecutive years. In addition, the National Research Corporation recognized Virtua Voorhees Hospital with a Consumer Choice Award.

“All of our hospitals have been rated “A” by Leapfrog for last four years. Virtua Voorhees Hospital received the Leapfrog Top Teaching Hospital Award twice,” Executive Vice President and System Chief Clinical Officer Dr. John Matsinger told NEW JERSEY BUSINESS in January of this year, during an interview for a separate article about “Award-Winning Hospitals.”

Virtua also earned a Health Grades’ Patient Safety Excellence Award, recognizing the top 10 percent of hospitals with the lowest occurrences of 14 preventable patient safety events.

Lourdes Health System is likewise top-tier, with its cardiac care and geriatric care programs especially notable for their excellence.

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