From Community Roots to National Reach: Lessons from 14 Years of Consolidation and Integration

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are no longer the exception—they’re the norm. But what happens when a faith-based, community-focused healthcare organization acquires an academic medical center, then becomes part of a national Catholic health system?

Since 2012, this organization has lived that reality: from Alegent Health’s acquisition of Creighton University School of Medicine, to the formation of Alegent Creighton, to eventual integration into CHI Health and now CommonSpirit Health. CommonSpirit Health is one of the largest nonprofit hospital systems in the United States. It is the nation’s largest Catholic health system and the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain overall, operating in more than 2,200 care sites across 24 states—from coast to coast—with a network of more than 35,000 physicians and advanced practice providers.

This session takes a candid look at the organization’s 14-year journey through complex mergers, academic integration, cultural alignment, leadership restructuring and operational transformation.