After several years of discussing a merger, the two hospitals in Sioux City will combine, as UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s will acquire MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center and its affiliated other health care pieces.
That move was announced Thursday by UnityPoint, as Sioux City will likely become a one-hospital-system town.
UnityPoint and MercyOne have a letter of intent to carry out the consolidation, which could be done later this year. According to the announcement, the purchase would also include physician practices and home care services.
UnityPoint CEO Scott Kizer said in a statement the deal will help to recruit workers and maintain access to health care.
A UnityPoint Facebook post Thursday afternoon said, "This is a pivotal step to better meet the healthcare needs of Siouxland and deliver an exceptional experience. Throughout this process, high-qaulity patient care will remain our top priority for the community of Siouxland."
Officials with the two hospitals have been discussing possible linkage for years, including most recently before the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
UnityPoint Health-St Luke’s is the most recent permutation of the longstanding northside hospital that was formed in 1966 by the consolidation of the former Lutheran and Methodist hospitals.
MercyOne has had a downtown hospital site for decades, at one point under that Marian Health Center name.
*Also in health care news, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law Wednesday that aims to expand access to health care in rural parts of the state.
The new law is focused on addressing Iowa’s shortage of doctors and other health care professionals. It directs state health officials to seek federal funding to add more than 100 medical residency positions across the state.
The new law also consolidates loan repayment programs and increases funding for financial incentives for high demand health providers.
Reynolds says the new programs will support access to high quality care in rural Iowa.
“These strategic investments will not only strengthen Iowa’s health care system, I believe they’ll make Iowa the place where physicians want to learn, where they want to train, and where they want to practice,” Reynolds said.
The law also says the state will seek federal permission for a hub-and-spoke model of care in rural Iowa. And it eliminates the health facilities council and lets the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services decide where new health facilities can open.
