Lancaster General Health to join University of Pennsylvania health system

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The deal, which has been in the works since October, unites two systems that have been among the top five in the state as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

The systems will remain unchanged and independent while the agreement is under review, according to a news release.


As part of the agreement, LG Health’s governance would continue under a board of trustees consisting of business and community members, its CEO and representatives of Penn Medicine. LG Health would also gain seats on Penn Medicine’s board of trustees, the release said.

Additionally, LG Health’s community efforts, such as its charity-care policies, community health programs and initiatives improving the health of the elderly, poor and other at-risk populations, would continue under the governance of the LG Health board.

LG Health President and CEO Thomas E. Beeman said, “We extensively evaluated partners that could strengthen our not-for-profit mission of advancing the health of our community in this era of unprecedented healthcare reform. Our choice, the University of Pennsylvania Health System, is an elite organization with the resources and expertise to truly transform healthcare. Together, our aim will be to enhance access to cost-effective, high-quality care, and to strengthen our complementary teaching and research missions.”

Ralph W. Muller, CEO of Penn Medicine, said, “Since forming our strategic alliance more than a year ago, we’ve learned our cultures are similar and that we share a passion for excellence, aimed at improving health and providing more value at less cost. Tremendous synergies and opportunities are possible by combining two of Pennsylvania’s financially strongest and clinically advanced systems.”

Muller noted projects on which the two organizations are already collaborating, including a liver transplant evaluation clinic in Lancaster involving Penn Medicine physicians, nutritionists and social workers that helps patients avoid trips to Philadelphia. Services for kidney patients are also coming later this year, he said.

LG Health also plans to join the Penn Medicine Telestroke program, which uses telephone, Internet, videoconferencing and other electronic communication methods to improve stroke care, according to the release.

The health systems also established an OB-GYN clerkship rotation for its medical students at LG Health’s Women & Babies Hospital and are identifying additional learning opportunities for aspiring physicians, Beeman said.

The Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences will remain a part of the Lancaster General Health system, the release said.

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Beeman called the agreement an “historic occasion” that will “enhance the region’s access to low-cost and high-quality health care.”

“Health care is undergoing an unprecedented, seismic transformation that is neither sustainable nor accessible,” he said, noting that LG Health started considering aligning with another system five years ago.

“We’re lucky to have a national leader to partner with,” he said. “Having a health system of world renown at the disposal of our community is phenomenal.”

He added, “We’re going to be adding services that we could never have delivered without Penn Health.” He also stressed that there was no financial transaction involved, and that LG Health’s money will “unequivocally” remain in Lancaster under the auspices of the local board. Additionally, he said, “All issues regarding our medical staff, our investment and our properties remain under local control.”

He called the relationship “truly synergistic,” noting, “This is an exquisite relationship that we’re looking at and we’re very proud of it.”