The affiliation between Mercy and St. Anthony’s Medical Center has been finalized, which means St. Anthony’s is now Mercy’s fifth acute-care hospital in the St. Louis region and the third largest hospital Mercy has across four state, according to a written statement issued today (June 1).
The hospitals announced in February that they had entered into a definitive agreement providing for an affiliation between the two organizations and since then have been working to finalize the details.
“This is a wonderful day for the community, for patients and for co-workers, Mercy executive vice president Donn Sorensen said in today’s statement. “Two organizations with a shared faith-based heritage are coming together offering expanded access to care throughout the area and greater opportunities for co-workers.”
Mike McCurry, Mercy executive vice president and chief operating officer, will be the new president for St. Anthony’s, the statement said, succeeding Kelly Wetzler, who had served as interim CEO for the past few months.
In addition, Sorensen “will provide executive oversight for operations,” the statement said.
When Mercy enters a new service area, it holds “community roundtable listening tours,” which will begin now. Business and civic leaders, physicians, elected officials and other community members will be invited to the tours, Mercy reported.
A blessing will be held in September to celebrate the transition. Representatives from both Mercy and St. Anthony’s will be part of the celebration, along with Archdiocese of St. Louis representatives.
Mercy, which operates a hospital in Festus, serves millions of patients and was named one of the top five large U.S. health systems in 2016 by Truven, an IBM company. Mercy has more than 40 acute-care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, more than 700 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 40,000 employees and more than 2,000 Mercy Clinic physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
St. Anthony’s Medical Center, the third largest medical center in the St. Louis metropolitan area, serves for patients across a multi-county region in Missouri and southwest Illinois. St. Anthony’s has 3,500 employees and nearly 670 medical staff members, including a 176-member physician organization. St. Anthony’s also operates four urgent care facilities, located in Arnold, Fenton, Lemay and Kirkwood.