WVU Health System Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Independence Health System

GREENSBURG, Pa. (EYT) — The West Virginia University Health System, operating under the brand WVU Medicine, and Independence Health System have signed a definitive agreement that will lead to the acquisition of Independence Health System, supporting a planned $800 million investment to strengthen hospitals and expand care across western Pennsylvania.

The transaction is expected to close in late September or early October, pending certain remaining regulatory approvals. In November, both organizations announced their initial intention for Independence Health System to become part of the WVU Health System.

Since then, the WVU Health System has conducted extensive due diligence, sought and obtained certain regulatory approvals, and worked collaboratively with Independence Health System to finalize the definitive agreement and develop long-term strategic plans for the organization’s hospitals and services.

“This moment marks an important step toward Independence Health System joining our organization,” Albert L. Wright Jr., president and CEO of the WVU Health System, said. “I remain grateful to Ken DeFurio and his Board for the trust they are placing in us to ensure their hospitals remain strong and vibrant for generations to come. Our commitment to their patients, employees, and physicians, as well as the communities their hospitals serve, is to invest in the people, programs, technology, and infrastructure that will position these hospitals for long-term success.”

Wright noted that the collaboration will improve regional medical capabilities.

“This partnership is about preserving and expanding access to high-quality healthcare close to home,” Wright said. “By bringing our organizations together, we can strengthen services throughout southwestern Pennsylvania while enhancing opportunities for clinical collaboration, recruitment, research, education, and specialty care access.”

As part of this transaction, the WVU Health System has agreed to make an unprecedented investment of $800 million in Independence Health System’s five hospitals. These investments will include a new electronic medical record system, significant facility upgrades and expansions, and enhanced clinical capabilities designed to improve access to care and broaden the services available to patients across the region.

“This agreement secures a stronger future for our hospitals, our caregivers and the patients who depend on us,” Ken DeFurio, president and CEO of Independence Health System, said. “It brings the scale, capital, and clinical strength needed to protect local access to care and positions this region for long-term growth.”

The transaction builds on both organizations’ shared commitment to community-based care while adding the scale, clinical expertise, and infrastructure of a regional academic health system. Once complete, the transaction will support long-term financial sustainability through shared resources and operational efficiencies, while strengthening coordinated population health strategies through Peak Health, the WVU Health System’s affiliated health insurance organization.

Upon closing, the transaction will further expand the WVU Health System’s network of hospitals, outpatient facilities, and specialty services across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio, extending expert care to rural and underserved communities throughout the region.

The West Virginia University Health System is West Virginia’s largest health system and the state’s largest employer with more than 3,500 licensed beds, 4,600 providers, 39,000 employees, and $7 billion in total operating revenues. The health system is comprised of 25 hospitals, including J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, an 880-bed academic medical center, and the 150-bed WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, and five institutes.

Independence Health System comprises Butler Memorial, Clarion, Frick, Latrobe and Westmoreland hospitals with a combined bed count of 925. With more than 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers and nearly 7,000 employees, the system is the third largest in western Pennsylvania, serving a population base of 750,000 in a footprint spanning a multi-county region.

The system includes tertiary programs rated among America’s best for cardiac care and surgery, earning accolades from a number of prestigious outlets and organizations. Locally owned and locally controlled, Independence Health System offers its patients low-cost, high-quality care across the care spectrum in such specialties as cardiology, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, women’s health and obstetrics, emergency medicine, behavioral health and primary care. Its network of outpatient centers sees more than 1.2 million visits annually, and the homecare division further supports patients at all stages of life with home health and hospice services.

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