McLaren St. Luke’s to cease operations: What we know
The hospital’s downfall is blamed, in part, on an increasingly competitive market.
MAUMEE, Ohio — It’s the shocking news that broke last Friday, and will result in the end of an over century-long run. Michigan-based healthcare provider McLaren announced that St. Luke’s Hospital, which it acquired back in 2019, will cease operations in mid-May.
According to the news release, due to “declining revenues and an unstable reimbursement environment,” the McLaren St. Luke’s Board of Directors made the unanimous decision to close the hospital and cease all outpatient services.
Hospital officials say McLaren Health Care and Mercy Health are in the process of finalizing an asset purchase agreement, in which Mercy Health will acquire the facility’s land and physical assets. Mercy Health will work with WellCare Physicians Group through the transition.
As part of the agreement, Mercy Health says it “expects to extend employment opportunities to a significant percentage of McLaren St. Luke’s physicians and employees.” The news release goes on to say that representatives from Mercy Health will begin meeting with hospital employees and physicians early next week.
The hospital also said in its announcement that St. Luke’s experienced a “30% decline in community use of its services between 2020 and 2022,” and if it continued operations, would have lost $37 million this year.
So how about current patients? McLaren says they will complete their care, as the hospital reduces admissions and begins to wind down other clinical work in the weeks ahead.
Patients seeking additional information regarding scheduling, bill pay or medical records are asked to call 419-897-8484.
