Dive Brief:
- Two Boston-area hospitals, Tufts Medical Center and Lowell General Hospital, are coming together to form a new health care system covering the area between Southern New Hampshire and south of Boston.
- Under the terms of tentative agreement approved by both boards, each of the nonprofit hospitals would continue to operate independently under a new parent organization.
- The deal undercuts Partners HealthCare System, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Stewart Health Care System, which have been quite active in acquiring hospitals and medical practices around the region.
Dive Insight:
While many community hospitals have been acquired around the region, until now Tufts has preferred to establish "strategic relationships" that fall short of mergers. The combined entity will link the 415-bed Boston teaching hospital with one of the state's largest community hospitals, Lowell. Lowell, between itself and former rival Saints Memorial Medical Center, has 434 beds. According to the Boston Globe, this should be a turning point for Tufts, which has lost out in many battles to acquire rival hospitals.