Beaumont Health, Spectrum Health Formalize Healthcare Merger Plans

Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health have finalized their healthcare merger plan with a formal integration agreement and have committed to providing accessible, affordable, and quality healthcare to Michiganders across the state.

The two health systems announced the merger plan and signed a letter of intent in June 2021. Once the state and federal regulatory review processes are complete, the organizations will launch their new health system, temporarily named BHSH System.

BHSH System would include 22 hospitals with more than 64,000 team members from the two health systems.

“Both Spectrum Health and Beaumont Health have rich histories with compassionate, high-quality and dedicated healthcare professionals,” Tina Freese Decker, president and chief executive officer of Spectrum Health and future president and chief executive officer of BHSH System, stated in the press release. “As COVID-19 and the Delta variant increase, I am grateful for the care provided to our communities by our team members.”

The integration agreement reiterates the initial goals that the health systems expressed in the letter of interest.

Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health aim to improve health equity by prioritizing care delivery for their patients and plan members. BHSH System will also act to improve care quality and health outcomes, including offering members access to Spectrum Health’s health plan, Priority Health.

The health systems committed to investing in new technologies to expand its virtual and at-home healthcare offerings in order to provide more convenience for patients, the press release added.

The organizations also constructed the merger deal with the promise to increase access to more affordable healthcare coverage for Michigan residents.

“With progress towards an integration, I remain confident our new health system will not only allow us to more effectively meet our obligations to our local communities but will drive further excellence in care and coverage while improving both affordability and access for the communities we serve across the state,” Robert Roth, board chair of Spectrum Health, said in the press release.

BHSH System will ensure that their physicians, nurses, and other team members who work closely with patients feel comfortable sharing their ideas and input. The health system will also aim to hire top health professionals to work for their hospitals and provider offices.

“This is an important step forward to bring together our organizations to create a new system that improves the health of individuals throughout the state,” John Fox, president and chief executive officer of Beaumont Health, concluded in the press release. “We continue to receive positive feedback about what our teams can do together, and we are excited about the future.”