Sign of the Times
Posted on December 11, 2023 by USA Marketing and Communications
It's official. Providence has joined USA Health. The acquisition was completed six months after the University of South Alabama Health Care Authority reached an agreement with St. Louis-based Ascension to acquire Providence and its clinics. The deal expands USA Health’s locations from 29 to 44 and continues the health system’s growth along the Gulf Coast.
The acquisition gives USA Health a third hospital, eight clinic locations on Providence’s west Mobile campus and six family practice clinics in Mobile and Moss Point, Mississippi.
Leading up to the Oct. 1 completion, teams worked to integrate communications and technology, and welcome nearly 1,800 Providence associates to USA Health. Leaders established a command center on Providence Hospital’s first floor to isolate and quickly respond to issues as soon as the hospital came online.
“The first 24 hours could not have gone better,” University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner told reporters at a news conference.
By the end of the first day, workers had applied new vinyl to the hospital’s front doors and installed other signs across the west Mobile campus. USA Health leaders rounded the floors of the hospital with their Providence colleagues, handing out cookies and welcoming new associates. In the lobby, employees stopped by a USA Health backdrop decorated with red, white and blue balloons to take photos.
Dr. John V. Marymont, vice president for medical affairs and dean of USA’s Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, said the acquisition allowed USA Health to expand its tripartite mission of education, research and healthcare.
“Providence is well known for its rich history and culture, and we look forward to continuing that,” said USA Health CEO Owen Bailey, who also is senior associate vice president for medical affairs. “I have personally witnessed a great deal of excitement at both Providence and USA Health about our future together.”