Fond du Lac, Wis.-based Agnesian HealthCare and Monroe, Wis.-based Monroe Clinic, which have been ministries of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, have joined St. Louis-based SSM Health.
Laura S. Kaiser, president and chief executive of SSM Health, center, hugs Sr. Jean Steffes, general superior of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, at a Jan. 4 ceremony to celebrate the sponsorship transfer of Agnesian HealthCare and Monroe Clinic to SSM. Mike Sanders, Monroe Clinic president and chief executive, is seated at right.
The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes and SSM Health announced the sponsorship transfer of Agnesian HealthCare and Monroe Clinic to SSM Health Ministries on Jan. 4. The Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes said in a news release that they had pursued the transfer to SSM Health because of changes in the payer and provider markets in Wisconsin and changing demographics of the congregation, which has about 200 sisters in the United States and Nicaragua.
Laura S. Kaiser, president and chief executive of SSM Health, called the partnership a natural fit, and one that will enhance care in Wisconsin. SSM Health's care network in Wisconsin extends into northern Illinois and, with the transfer, includes seven hospitals, 10 post-acute care facilities, physician offices and other outpatient care sites, a health plan and pharmacy benefit management company in the region.
Agnesian HealthCare, Monroe Clinic and their affiliates will adopt the SSM Health brand with names that also honor their legacy names. The brand transition is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Agnesian HealthCare has about 3,800 employees and includes St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac, Ripon Medical Center in Ripon, Waupun Memorial Hospital in Waupun, clinics, pharmacies and long-term care centers.
Monroe Clinic is a single-hospital health system serving southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. Monroe Clinic has about 1,100 employees including a multispecialty physician practice with 122 employed providers, 12 clinic locations and other health care sites and services.
SSM Health is a Catholic nonprofit that, after the completion of the transfer, said it has about 40,000 employees in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Illinois and Missouri.
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