Care New England, Southcoast consider merger

Care New England Health System of Providence, R.I., and Southcoast Health System of New Bedford, Mass., announced last week that they are exploring a merger.

The two organizations signed a letter of intent to discuss forming a new not-for-profit to oversee both systems. Care New England has four hospitals while Southcoast is a three-campus system.

If the two systems join, the combined organization would include two accountable care organizations, more than 1,700 aligned physicians and providers, and academic relationships, including an affiliation with Brown University’s medical school.

Last year, Care New England expanded its cardiovascular services through a partnership with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The Bostonbased hospital agreed to staff Care New England’s hospitals with cardiovascular specialists and provide additional assistance via telemedicine.

George Shuster, Care New England’s board chairman, said the merger represents “the best possible choice in enabling us to move forward, strengthening quality, transitioning to population health, improving the value proposition, finding the right structural and cultural fit for both organizations, and maintaining our valued relationships with key academic, provider and organizational partners.”