Hackley Hospital, Mercy General Hospital in Muskegon, MI Proposed Merger Update

As a sequel to my previous article about the Hackley Hospital and Mercy General Hospital located in Muskegon, Michigan I will give you the latest news and happenings concerning the merger process. For those of you who did not read the first article here is a quick synopsis of what has gone on already. Hackley Hospital has been losing money for a few years now and has gone through two rounds of layoffs and is still in no better financial situation than it was prior to those layoffs. In an effort to save the company from financial ruin, Hackley Hospital has begun the process of asking for a merger with Mercy General Hospital. This process involves due diligence which involves a look into the financial and legal standings of both hospitals as well as a governmental review by the Federal Trade Commission to ensure no antitrust laws will be violated if the two entities merged.

At this point in the process, the merger is not a done deal. The 30 days of the Federal Trade Commissions review process have expired thus allowing the merger process to move forward uninhibited by antitrust law action. Due diligence will continue as each hospital looks at the other's standings. The Boards of Trustees of both hospitals will also continue to work on a final agreement on the terms of the merger which will then need to be approved by the Trinity Health Board. (Trinity Health is Mercy General Hospital's owner.) Until this process is complete and a final merger date is agreed upon, both hospitals are running independently of each other and doing business as if they are still competing against each other.