St. Peter's University Healthcare System was exploring a merger with RWJBarnabas Health.RWJBarnabas Health and Saint Peter’s Healthcare System have halted plans to merge.
“We are very disappointed with this outcome. However, we are grateful for the strong partnership we’ve had with the RWJBarnabas leadership,” said Leslie D. Hirsch, president and CEO of Saint Peter’s Healthcare System, in a statement.of the two health systems, saying it would be “bad for patients.” The proposed merger between RWJBarnabas, the state’s largest health system, and Saint Peter’s — based in New Brunswick — had been ongoing since 2019.that the merger would “harm competition for inpatient general acute care services.”
Barry H. Ostrowsky, CEO of RWJBarnabas Health, said in a statement that “This difficult decision was not reached lightly.” “We are disappointed in the termination of the proposed transaction, which we believe would have transformed quality, increased access and decreased the overall cost of care for the people of this State through the creation of a premier academic medical center,” he added.