Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Hospital of Saint Raphael have made the details of their potential merger a lot more concrete, they announced Wednesday.
The two hospitals first announced a merger this spring, but the Definitive Agreement, which they expected to finish by early July, has taken longer than they planned. The Agreement, which the hospitals have not yet released publicly, lays out the financial and logistical specifics of the merger and will now have to be reviewed and approved by the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access and the Federal Trade Commission for possible negative effects on competition.
“We continue to be excited about the benefits to our communities and region that will arise out of the integration of services between Yale-New Haven and Saint Raphael’s,” Marna P. Borgstrom, president and CEO of YNHH, said in the press release.
The main impetus for the merger is Saint Ray’s fiscal woes. This merger would ensure that Saint Ray’s avoids bankruptcy and that New Haven keeps both its hospitals. YNHH will assume responsibility for Saint Ray’s pension debts, according to the press release.
The press release confirmed that Saint Ray’s will remain a “Catholic Institution,” and continue to provide medical care according to the “Ethical and Religious Directives” of the Catholic Church. These directives categorically forbid abortion, a procedure currently offered by YNNH.
Continued adherence to the “Ethical and Religious Directives” on the Saint Ray’s campus was essential for the merger, Saint Ray’s spokewoman Geri Johnson-Reis told the News in March.
YNHH, founded in 1826, was the fourth voluntary hospital in the United States.