Bon Secours Health System plans to merge with Mercy Health

The parent company of Bon Secours hospitals says it plans to merge with Cincinnati-based Mercy Health to create one of the largest health systems in the U.S.

The merger of the Marriottsville, Md.-based Bon Secours Health System and Mercy Health is expected to result in an organization with 43 hospitals and more than 1,000 sites of care in seven states.

The Bon Secours system includes four hospitals in the Richmond area and three in Hampton Roads. Local Bon Secours officials declined to comment on the merger.

No financial details have been announced. The health systems said that in coming months they will finalize a definitive merger agreement, obtain applicable approvals and complete plans to merge.

Mercy Health and Bon Secours executives expect to complete the merger by the end of the calendar year.

“The mission, vision, values and geographic service areas of Bon Secours and Mercy Health are remarkably well-aligned and highly complementary,” Richard J. Statuto, the president and CEO of Bon Secours Health System, said in a statement. “This merger strengthens our shared commitment to improve population health, eliminate health disparities, build strength to address social determinants of health, and invest heavily in innovating our approaches to health care.”

The merged health systems would be one of top 20 health systems in the nation and the fifth-largest Catholic health system.

It would have $8 billion in net operating revenue and $293 million in operating income. The health system’s workforce would include 57,000 associates and more than 2,100 physicians and advanced-practice clinicians.

Mercy Health is the largest health system in Ohio and among the top five employers in the state. It has more than 33,500 employees in Ohio and Kentucky.

Bon Secours is sponsored by Bon Secours Ministries and was founded by the Sisters of Bon Secours. Employing more than 24,000 people, it has operations in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida and New York,

Bon Secours' facilities include 20 hospitals and 27 post-acute care facilities or agencies, including skilled nursing facilities, home care and hospice services, and assisted living facilities.