On November 1st, 2024 UAB announced they have closed their deal to acquire & rebrand 5 Birmingham, AL. area hospitals under the UAB St. Vincent's title. Major unresolved issues about Ascension's questionable business practices as owners of the medical system remain unadressed. The timing of the announcement nestled between the Halloween holiday & the November 5th national election, may be an indicator someone does not want to attract a lot of attention to the particulars of this news.
One of the first items of business facing UAB in their 450 million dollar acquisition of Ascension St. Vincent's is an assessment & purge of corrupt staff & business practices & elements that have been allowed to grow out of control over many years. This runs contrary however to their statement, hoping 5,000 associates keep their jobs during the transition & that they plan to operate the facilities without any changes. If UAB follows their announced course they may soon find themselves with many millions of dollars worth of risk and debts at the very least. Such corruption may be what prompted the Catholic / Christian operators of Ascension to pull out of the state & sell the hospitals for pennies on the dollar in the first place.
The facilities in the acquistion include: Ascension St. Vincent’s Hospital in downtown Birmingham, along with St. Vincent’s East, St. Vincent’s St. Clair, St. Vincent’s Blount and St. Vincent’s Chilton. Also included: physician offices, a freestanding emergency department in Trussville, the One Nineteen campus and imaging centers.
“UAB is hopeful that most – if not all – of Ascension St. Vincent’s roughly 5,000 caregivers and associates will remain in their roles,” said UAB spokesperson Alicia Rohan.
Rohan said UAB Health System plans to operate the hospitals without any changes and has no plans to eliminate or consolidate services.
This comes 1 month following a cyberattack on Ascension that operates in 19 US states with 140 hospitals, 160000+ associates & 36000+ affiliated providers.
According to Birmingham Alabama based broadcaster WBRC FOX 6. Here it is mentioned UAB’s decision to acquire Ascension St. Vincent’s could potentially save the five hospitals from closure.
“Ascension has been selling off its hospitals across the country in recent months to improve its financial situation. They had already planned to leave Alabama,” said Dr. Don Williamson, President of the Alabama Hospital Association.
If Ascension had gone through with this decision, it would have left numerous healthcare facilities abandoned.
“This meant that five hospitals and around 19 ambulatory air sites across the state would be under new ownership or could potentially close. UAB and Ascension St. Vincent’s were already in a partnership,” Williamson explained.
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