Louisville, Ky - Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System today announced a merger of the two organizations forming the state's largest health system to be known as KentuckyOne Health.
The partners originally envisioned a three-way merger that included University Hospital - James Graham Brown Cancer Center in Louisville. Although such a merger received federal and church approvals, Gov. Steve Beshear declined the necessary state approvals to participate.
"This is an historic day for the Commonwealth of Kentucky," said Bob Hewett, chair of the board for KentuckyOne Health. "The people of Kentucky face significant health threats, not just from disease, but also from issues related to access to preventive and advanced medical care and a severe shortage of physicians. We believe that this new health system will make for a healthier Kentucky."
The system will collaborate with all health care providers, enhancing existing relationships and developing new partnerships.
KentuckyOne Health is a nonprofit charitable organization that honors the rich Jewish and Catholic heritages of its two sponsors, Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services and Catholic Health Initiatives. As part of KentuckyOne Health, historically Jewish facilities will remain Jewish. Historically Catholic facilities will remain Catholic.
Catholic Health Initiatives will invest $320 million to launch KentuckyOne Health. The new system plans to invest in an integrated electronic health record system and other IT improvements plus make additional facility, equipment and telehealth investments in communities across the state.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association, Kentucky ranks among the 10 states with the worst health indicators for cancer, obesity and death due to heart disease and stroke. More than half of the state is designated as medically underserved and there is a growing scarcity of physicians across Kentucky.
KentuckyOne Health includes hospitals, clinics, specialty institutes, home health agencies, satellite primary care centers, and physician groups with more than 80 locations, 2,500 staff physicians and more than 13,000 employees across the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana.