South County Hospital ends merger talks with Southcoast

DESPITE A STILL-CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT, South County Hospital Healthcare System has broken off merger talks with Southcoast Health System. The Wakefield-based health care provider will continue to look for a merger partner.  / COURTESY SOUTH COUNTY HOSPITAL
DESPITE A STILL-CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT, South County Hospital Healthcare System has broken off merger talks with Southcoast Health System. The Wakefield-based health care provider will continue to look for a merger partner. / COURTESY SOUTH COUNTY HOSPITAL

(Updated, 6:30 p.m.)
SOUTH KINGSTOWN – South County Hospital Healthcare System has ended merger talks with Southcoast Health System roughly six months after the two community health organizations began serious talks to join operations.
In a release Friday, South County said that a merger “could not combine resources in a manner that would enhance services for the respective communities [the two health care providers] serve.”
In February 2013, South County’s board authorized hospital President and CEO Louis Giancola to reach out to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Southcoast in Massachusetts, and the Rhode Island networks Lifespan and Care New England to find a potential partner. All the systems except Lawrence & Memorial expressed interest and entered discussions with South County.
In February of this year, South County entered into exclusive talks with Southcoast, noting at the time that the New Bedford-based group’s proposal offered “a commitment to substantial local governance, resources to enhance services in the community, and the development of a system that can preserve existing patterns of care in Rhode Island.”
South County emphasized in making the announcement Friday that the underlying conditions that caused it to look for a partner have not changed. “Declining payments from government and commercial insurers, the shift from fee-for-service payment to different forms of global payment, and consolidation of hospitals into larger systems,” are all still the reality of the health care environment, the Wakefield-based provider said.
For that reason, South County will continue to explore merger options going forward that “support its ability to serve the community.”
Southcoast released a statement to Providence Business News that confirmed the end of negotiations. Peter Cohenno, a spokesman for the provider, said “Some 18 years ago when Southcoast Health was three separate hospitals, we experienced firsthand that making a commitment to a business partnership of this magnitude can be challenging and complicated.”
He went on to say that Southcoast will continue to explore growth opportunities “and the continued expansion of our Accountable Care Organization — all driven by what is in the best interest of our patients and the communities we serve.”

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