In Michigan, Ascension divests four campuses and forms Detroit-area joint venture

September 2024

Ascension's footprint and operating structure are changing for some of its ministries in Michigan. On Aug. 1, Ascension divested four eastern Michigan campuses to the MyMichigan Health system. On Sept. 30, Ascension expects to complete a joint venture with Henry Ford Health System involving multiple Ascension and Henry Ford campuses in and around Detroit.

MyMichigan
MyMichigan is a nonprofit system that is connected with the University of Michigan Health System. Including the newly acquired Ascension facilities, MyMichigan has 12 medical centers, with eight of those campuses directly affiliated with the university health system. MyMichigan also has a network of outpatient clinics, urgent care centers and home and hospice care.

The Ascension sites that have joined MyMichigan are:

  • The 268-bed Ascension St. Mary's of Saginaw, now renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw.
  • Ascension St. Mary's Towne Center, an ambulatory surgery center, wound care center, emergency department and short stay unit facility, now renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Towne Centre.
  • The 47-bed Ascension St. Joseph in Tawas, now renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Tawas.
  • The 25-bed critical access hospital and 29-bed skilled nursing facility Ascension St. Mary's of Standish, now renamed MyMichigan Medical Center Standish.

According to an Ascension spokesperson, with the divestiture of these campuses and their related sites of care and physician practices, these facilities no longer function as Catholic hospitals or ministries of the Catholic Church.

That spokesperson noted that while the facilities no longer will be Catholic, their mission under MyMichigan's ownership will remain to "help people live longer, better lives" and this "aligns to the spirit and intention of Ascension to improve the health of individuals and communities."

According to a MyMichigan release on the divestiture, the goal is to strengthen access to care and services in the affected communities.

Details on the financial aspects of the divestiture were not available as Catholic Health World completed this story.

Henry Ford
Facilities that are part of Ascension's southeast Michigan region and its Genesys subsystem will be involved in the upcoming joint venture with the Henry Ford system. Those Ascension campuses are in Detroit and multiple Detroit-area communities including East China, Grand Blanc, Grosse Pointe, Howell, Macomb, Madison Heights, Novi, Plainwell, Rochester, Saint Clair Shores, Southfield and Warren. Henry Ford has hospital campuses in six southeastern Michigan communities: Clinton Township, Detroit, Ferndale, Jackson, West Bloomfield and Wyandotte.

According to a joint press release, a goal of the joint venture will be to improve patient outcomes, access and experience. Other top goals will be to prioritize population health and value-based care; champion equity for all; and partner to advance innovation, academic medicine and advanced, complex care. To do this, the partners will establish an integrated network involving about 50,000 Ascension and Henry Ford staff at more than 550 care sites.

According to an Ascension spokesperson, both Ascension and the Henry Ford system will maintain ownership stakes in the joint venture and will "work together to deliver the best care and experience to our communities, patients and team members."

Henry Ford President and CEO Bob Riney will lead the joint venture organization and a board of directors with representatives of both partners will govern it. The joint venture will be headquartered in Detroit. It will be branded "Henry Ford Health."

The Ascension sites involved in the joint venture will remain Catholic health facilities. Those facilities' "longstanding commitment to Catholic values, the Ethical and Religious Directives and our mission of serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable will remain at the heart of everything we do," said the spokesperson.

Ascension has campuses in the southwestern part of Michigan, including in Allegan, Dowagiac, Kalamazoo and Plainwell, that are not part of the MyMichigan divestiture nor the Henry Ford joint venture.

The Michigan activity comes in the wake of recent Ascension divestiture announcements in  Alabama and Illinois.

 

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