Ascension To Sell St. Francis Hospital In Evanston To Prime Healthcare

EVANSTON, IL — St. Francis Hospital in Evanston is set to be sold to Prime Healthcare. Ascension is selling nine hospitals in Illinois and four in other states to the California-based health system.

Prime Healthcare, which runs dozens of hospitals across 14 states through both for-profit and nonprofit models, announced that it will invest $250 million into the hospitals it purchased from Ascension, a nonprofit Catholic system.

The transaction, expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, is Prime's largest-ever acquisition and its first in Illinois.

St. Francis was founded more than 120 years ago as Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston. It was renamed Presence St. Francis in 2011, Amita Health St. Francis Hospital in 2017 and Ascension St. Francis Hospital in 2022.

Ascension, a St. Louis-based nonprofit health system, has been offloading hospitals as it restructures to focus more on outpatient care.

For the three years ending in fiscal 2023, Ascension lost nearly $4 billion on operations and, as of July, had offloaded nearly 30 of its hospitals, Statnews reported.

The recent 13-hospital sale to Prime Healthcare follows its recent divestiture of three hospitals and an ambulatory surgical center to MyMichigan Health in March and a joint venture with Henry Ford Health in October to rebrand eight of its Michigan hospitals.

"We've been looking at horizontal investments and how we can grow our ambulatory footprint," said Ascension President Eduardo Conrado, according to Modern Healthcare. "We've been looking at putting additional capacity in specific geographic areas and then looking at specific geographic divestitures. Illinois should be our last major [divestiture]."

A spokesperson for Prime told the Tribune St. Francis would keep its nonprofit status as part of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, which operates 14 of its hospitals while its for-profit wing Prime Healthcare Services runs the other 30.

Polly Davenport, president and CEO of Ascension Illinois, said she was confident that Prime would continue the hospital system's excellent record and looked forward to working together to close the deal.

“Ascension Illinois has been committed to our Mission of serving all persons, with special attention to those who are most vulnerable," Davenport said. "Prime Healthcare’s Mission and commitment to clinical excellence and health equity will carry on this legacy, ensuring that the greater Chicago area has sustainable, quality healthcare access long into the future."

Prime Healthcare has been recognized for its quality care, being ranked by Newsweek as one of America's Greatest Workplaces for 2024.

However, the health system has also tangled with the Justice Department. False Claims Act allegations of kickbacks, billing for a suspended doctor and false claims for implantable medical hardware led to a $37.5 million settlement.

And, to resolve allegations that 14 Prime hospitals in California knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare, Prime paid a $61.75 million settlement to the feds while its founder and CEO Dr. Prem Reddy paid $3.25 million out of his own pocket.

Dr. Sunny Bhatia, Prime's president and chief medical officer, said in a statement that he and his employees are excited to bring the new hospitals into the company.

“Like Ascension, Prime Healthcare has a strong tradition of ensuring health equity and social responsibility," Bhatia said. "This transaction will enable a continuation of this tradition and expand our dedication to compassionate care, clinical excellence, and service to patients and the greater Chicago community.”

Prime's acquisition of St. Francis Hospital and Ascension's other hospitals is pending regulatory approvals. Neither party revealed the sales price.