The University of South Alabama Health Care Authority has announced plans to acquire Providence Health System from St. Louis-based Ascension. The transaction is subject to routine regulatory approval as well as customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fall of 2023.   

About the Transaction

USA Health engaged Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets, to serve as their strategic financial advisor based on its deep academic medicine and health system sector knowledge. USA Health and Providence have a longstanding relationship and the transaction will help the organizations enhance access to high quality healthcare in the Mobile community and further USA Health’s ability to fulfill its tripartite mission of education, research, and clinical care. The transaction expands USA Health’s footprint in the greater Mobile market, ensuring that the community has access to sustainable, quality healthcare long into the future.

About USA Health

USA Health is located in Mobile, AL, and stands as the only academic health system along the upper Gulf Coast. The system is comprised of nearly 30 care delivery locations, including USA Health University Hospital, the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital, a Level I trauma center, a comprehensive stroke center, and a Level III NICU. USA Health employs 3,900 clinical and nonclinical staff members, including 180 academic physicians who serve dual roles treating patients and teaching the next generation of medical doctors.

About Providence Health System

Mobile, AL-based Providence Hospital, which was founded in 1854 by the Daughters of Charity, is a full-service 349 bed hospital with 24/7 emergency care, a Level III trauma center, an outpatient diagnostic center, and a freestanding rehabilitation and wellness center. In addition to the hospital, Providence operates related sites of care throughout the greater Mobile community, including the physician practices of Ascension Medical Group. Providence became part of Ascension in 1999 when the Daughters of Charity and Sisters of St. Joseph Health System merged to form Ascension.

About Ascension

Ascension is one of the nation’s leading not-for-profit and Catholic health systems, with a mission of delivering compassionate, personalized care to all with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension includes approximately 37,000 aligned providers and operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 138 hospitals in 19 states.