ST. LOUIS - Southeast HEALTH, a health system based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, has officially signed an agreement with the Mercy Health system, based in Chesterfield, Missouri, the system announced Tuesday.
“Mercy joining Cape Girardeau and the greater Southeast Missouri region is a very real example of one of the ways we live the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy,” said Steve Mackin, Mercy president and CEO. “The Sisters would answer the call of a community, and we are honored to have SoutheastHEALTH invite us to join them in serving Southeast Missouri and bring our resources to the people of this region. Together, we will positively impact the community.”
The agreement officially finalizes a merger that had been brewing for a while. Both health systems signed a letter of intent back in January to merge together.
The deal will bring Southeast HEALTH, which has 51 locations in 11 Missouri-areas, to merge with Mercy Health System, which is one of the largest health systems in the entire United States.
The agreement is still subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and other required third-party approvals but it expected that the agreement will be passed.
Once the deal is made official, both systems will engage in a transition planning process that includes Mercy hosting community roundtable listening tours which is a tradition by Mercy when it welcomes a new hospital into its health system.
The system will host events will typically include business and civic leaders, physicians, elected officials and other community representatives and they will be invited to meet with hospital leaders to help determine next steps in the community master planning process.