St. Mary’s to acquire St. Joseph’s East Georgia
Published 8:00 am Wednesday, May 4, 2011
St. Mary’s Health Care System, Inc. announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire Saint Joseph’s East Georgia (SJEG) in Greensboro from Saint Joseph’s Health System (SJHS). St. Mary’s also announced that it will move forward with plans to build a new hospital in Greensboro to better deliver its high quality services to the many communities in the lake area region.
Terms of the proposed purchase are confidential. Several regulatory agencies must approve the transaction before it is finalized. St. Mary’s President and CEO Don McKenna said he expects to complete the transaction within the coming months.
“St. Mary’s has been providing high quality, compassionate care to the lake area communities for many years,” said McKenna. “Being able to further our tradition of caring service in the region is an honor and a privilege.”
St. Mary’s is a Catholic, non-profit health care system sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy and is located north of Greensboro in Athens.
“We have received outstanding support and cooperation from the SJEG Board, administrators and medical staff, and look forward to working with them in the future,” said Rodney Bennett, Chair of St. Mary’s Board of Directors. “Additionally, we are delighted with the quality and breadth of medical and clinical services available in the area and look forward to partnering with these providers in serving the health care needs of all the lake area communities.”
Joe Gorman, Chair of the SJEG Board, stated, “St. Mary’s commitment to build our new hospital is a dream come true for all the volunteers, donors and supporters who have given so much and been so patient over these past two years. Our Board could not be more pleased with the help and guidance we have received from SJHS throughout this process, and believes we could not have found a better partner than St. Mary’s to lead our hospital into the future.”
McKenna said they have identified potential building sites for the new facility along Carey Station Road. “It will be significantly larger than the existing facility and will provide additional services to patients,” he noted. “The purchase will expand access and availability of care to residents of Greene and surrounding counties.”
“We are very grateful to Mercer Reynolds and his family for their role in assisting St. Mary’s with this endeavor,” said McKenna. “The Reynolds family continues to work on improving the health and quality of life for area residents. Bringing improvements to quality healthcare services is another example of their commitment.”
“Our family has been in this community for more than 50 years,” said Mercer Reynolds, Chairman of Reynolds Plantation. “Having access to high-quality healthcare and services is important to all of us. The decision to support St. Mary’s expanded presence in our community was not a difficult one. Their strong reputation and commitment to service is excellent.”
Mike Huff, President and CEO of SJEG said, “We feel blessed to be able to transition our hospital from one excellent health care system to another. Saint Joseph’s Atlanta has paved the way in this journey, and has helped us make great strides in local health care in a short time frame. We are equally proud to become part of the wonderful St. Mary’s health care family, and with their leadership, are confident we will continue our track record of success.”
St. Mary’s is a fast-growing, non-profit health care system that includes a 196-bed hospital in Athens; Highland Hills Village retirement community and Center for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care; regional home health care and hospice services, including the area’s only inpatient hospice house; outpatient diagnostic, rehabilitation and wellness center; and an expanding number of physician practices, including cardiology, neurology, and industrial medicine.
St. Mary’s is the only hospital in the region to achieve The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval™ certification in advanced primary stroke, heart failure care and total knee replacement. In addition, St. Mary’s received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Gold Plus Performance Award for stroke care in 2010, was named Georgia’s Large Hospital of the Year for 2010 by the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, and is ranked number one in the state for total joint replacement in 2011 by Georgia Trend magazine. St. Mary’s is a member of Catholic Health East and has been the official health care provider for the University of Georgia Athletic Association since 1999