UM Medical System Chosen as St. Joseph's New Owner

(Updated 3:45 p.m.)—Catholic Health Initiatives, the Colorado-based owner of , has approved the hospital's transfer to the University of Maryland Medical System.

"The board recognized that as health care reform continues to evolve, it will be critical for health providers to be part of a regional network of coordinated health care organizations including hospitals, physicians, payers and other related health entities in geographically proximate areas," the hospital said in a statement.

Catholic Health Initiatives and the medical system will enter into exclusive negotiations on a letter of intent, then a final deal to transfer the hospital's ownership. The agreement will still require final approval by CHI and federal, state and church officials.

UMMS was one of three finalists to take over St. Joseph. LifeBridge Health and Ascension Health, owners of St. Agnes Hospital, were also in the running. UMMS has pledged to retain the hospital's Catholic identity.

Despite that pledge, Cardinal Edwin O'Brien, the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said in a statement he was "deeply disappointed" to learn the hospital would be run by a non-Catholic institution.

“The hospital and its staff of outstanding doctors, nurses, physicians and other healthcare workers, have a special connection to the Catholic community in the Archdiocese, as well as to countless others, and I pray these ties will not be severed by today’s decision," he said in the statement.

“It is my hope and prayer that the future of the hospital will continue to reflect the values that have been the hallmark of St. Joseph’s for nearly 150 years: reverence, integrity, compassion and excellence.”

The University of Maryland Medical System operates 12 hospitals in Maryland and is the third-largest private employer in central Maryland.

St. Joseph has faced numerous financial issues in recent years, including a federal settlement and lawsuits stemming from allegations that star cardiologist had placed stents in hundreds of heart patients who did not need them.