McLaren St. Luke’s Hospital expected to transfer to Mercy

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MAUMEE — McLaren St. Luke’s Hospital will wind down operations this spring, it was announced on Friday.

Ownership of facilities, land, and physical assets is expected to transfer to Mercy Health.

Following years of declining revenues and an unstable reimbursement environment, the McLaren St. Luke’s Board of Directors made what they said was the “difficult, but unanimous, decision” to close the hospital and related outpatient services. The organization has begun notifying employees, patients, regulators, and community partners of plans to discontinue operations by mid-May.

“Despite the tireless dedication of everyone associated with McLaren St. Luke’s, we have not been able to overcome the historic financial losses experienced by this hospital – losses that began long before COVID-19 that now run into the millions each month,” said Jennifer Montgomery, president and CEO of McLaren St. Luke’s. “Our passion for patient care and commitment to clinical excellence have never wavered. But sadly, we are not on a financially sustainable path.”

St. Luke’s experienced a 30% decline in community use of its services between 2020 and 2022 and can no longer sustain significant monthly financial losses, according to information supplied by McLaren.

Current patients at McLaren St. Luke’s will complete their care, and the hospital will begin to reduce admissions and wind down other clinical operations in the weeks ahead.

“Though this is not the future any of us envisioned for McLaren St. Luke’s, the reality is that times have changed. With so many hospitals in the area and more and more procedures being done in an outpatient setting, a facility like ours just cannot compete,” said McLaren St. Luke’s Board Chair Tim Goligoski. “It’s a tough pill to swallow for those of us who have been part of St. Luke’s for years or even generations, but we take pride in the impact we’ve had and the countless lives we’ve touched along the way.”

McLaren Health Care and Mercy Health are in the process of finalizing an asset purchase agreement in which Mercy Health will acquire the McLaren St. Luke’s facilities, land, and physical assets, pending final due diligence.

The plan is to restore some outpatient services later this year.

As part of the agreement, Mercy Health expects to extend employment opportunities to a percentage of McLaren St. Luke’s physicians and employees. Representatives from Mercy Health will begin meeting with hospital employees and physicians early next week.

“Mercy Health is committed to increasing access to high-quality, compassionate care throughout the Toledo region,” said Mercy Health – Toledo President Bob Baxter. “We are honored to work with McLaren St. Luke’s to offer a seamless transition of care for patients, community members and associates in Maumee and the surrounding areas.”

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