ChristianaCare Signs Merger Agreement to Acquire Jennersville Hospital

ChristianaCare has signed a healthcare merger agreement to acquire Tower Health’s Jennersville Hospital and reopen the location, which has been closed since December 2021.

The purchase includes the hospital, Tower Health’s interest in two office buildings, and a 24-acre area of land. The organizations expect to close the transaction in 30 to 60 days.

Following the deal, the campus will be called ChristianaCare West Grove Campus.

The organizations intend the acquisition to revitalize the Jennersville Hospital location. The facility, located in West Grove, Pennsylvania, closed on December 13, 2021. The acquisition does not include any personnel or practices currently operating, the press release noted.

“At ChristianaCare, we recognize that the closing of Jennersville Hospital represented a loss of access to important healthcare services in the surrounding community,” Janice E. Nevin, MD, president and chief executive officer of ChristianaCare, said in the announcement.

“ChristianaCare already serves many members of the Southern Chester County community in our hospitals and practices. We look forward to working with community leaders, listening and evaluating needs, and re-establishing the right mix of healthcare services at this location.”

Executives are still determining which services will be offered on the Jennersville campus.

“We are exploring what is possible,” Jennifer Schwartz, chief strategy officer of ChristianaCare, said in the press release. “We know that the loss of the emergency services because of the closing of Jennersville Hospital is a significant concern of the community, and that’s definitely something that we’re discussing. Our priority right now is to talk with community leaders and listen to the community, so that we can develop a plan that meets their needs.”

ChristianaCare offers primary care, outpatient services, and home healthcare. It operates three hospitals, a freestanding emergency department, urgent care centers, a comprehensive stroke center, and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care, and women’s health.

In March 2022, the healthcare system acquired two primary care practices in Jennersville and West Grove that Tower Health previously owned. The acquisition expanded ChristianaCare’s already substantial primary care footprint.

In addition, ChristianaCare signed a letter of intent in February 2022 to acquire PA-based Crozer Health from Prospect Medical Holdings. Crozer Health consists of four hospitals and will return to nonprofit status after the deal finalizes. The organizations expect the closing to occur in the second half of 2022.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice have investigated several healthcare merger and acquisition deals lately, citing anticompetitive behaviors.

The industry remains divided on whether mergers and acquisitions improve healthcare costs and quality.

However, acquisitions may help sustain small or rural hospitals on the brink of closing. In ChristianaCare’s case, the proposed transaction will reintroduce convenient access to healthcare services to the Jennersville community.