(WXMI) — A new merger between two Michigan healthcare systems will bring more access and options for patients of Sparrow Health.
On Thursday, the University of Michigan Board of Regents approved a merger between Sparrow and U-M Health, one of the largest healthcare systems in the nation. The Sparrow Health System Board of Directors gave their assent on Nov. 28.
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for this partnership and what it means for improving the health of our community,” said John Pirich, chairman of the Sparrow Health System Board of Directors. “For Michigan residents, this means expanded access to clinical care throughout the region, including specialty and complex care that’s often hard to find.”
While Sparrow and U-M will still have to determine where resources are allocated — and while both systems await regulatory approval, which is expected to come early in 2023 — the move will bring new programs, resources and technology that the larger U-M Health will provide to Sparrow. A three-year-old partnership to share pediatric care resources brought about the larger merger, which is expected to expand Sparrow’s offerings of services.
But not much else will change beside the new services coming to Sparrow patients. They can continue attending their local Sparrow hospitals; the merger simply brings care closer to home for many patients and families.
“When your loved one's in a hospital and you have to travel two hours to get there, or an hour or whatever it is, that’s not good for their care,” said Dr. Marschall Runge, CEO of Michigan Medicine and the dean of University of Michigan’s medical school. “Having their family there is good for their care.”
“When patients don’t have timely access to care, bad things happen. We saw that during COVID,” said Jim Dover, the president and CEO of Sparrow Health System. “So we see this as being a really great opportunity for us.”
The partnership isn’t an acquisition by any means. It’s what’s referred to as a member-substitution agreement, and Sparrow will continue to oversee their local operations and maintain the governing boards at all of their hospitals. Even their employees will still continue to be paid by the Sparrow system.
The partnership with U-M Health also gives Sparrow employees more access to clinical research opportunities through the University of Michigan.
The newly announced merger is almost a carbon copy of the merger between U-M Health and the formerly known Metro Health in Grand Rapids.
“What makes teams and groups work together is if they share common goals and common vision, and I know that is the same for our two organizations, which now become one,” said Runge.
READ MORE: Sparrow Hospital gets federal funds, expands rural reach
