Two years after calling off a merger with Texas Health Resources, Baylor Health Care System in Dallas is talking with another potential merger partner that would give it a foothold in nearby Fort Worth.
This time the potential partner for the prestigious academic medical system is All Saints Health System, which owns 260-bed All Saints Episcopal Hospital of Fort Worth and 43-bed All Saints Hospital-Cityview, also in Fort Worth. Baylor operates seven hospitals, including its flagship, 892-bed Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.
A deal between the two would create the second healthcare system spanning the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Texas Health Resources, based in Irving, was formed in 1997 through the merger of seven-hospital Harris Methodist Health System in Fort Worth and four-hospital Presbyterian Health Resources in Dallas.
THR and Baylor agreed in January 1999 to combine operations in a new company, which would have had annual revenue of $2.7 billion and operate 19 acute-care and four specialty hospitals. But the deal was called off several months later. At the time, executives expressed concern that a merger would divert attention from operations.
Earlier this month, All Saints announced it would evaluate a relationship with Baylor after many months of discussions. In a news release, the system said All Saints and Baylor had formed a working relationship through their mutual membership in hospital alliance VHA and would contemplate a "more direct" relationship.
All Saints said it is considering how a deal would affect access to capital, operational efficiencies and opportunities for clinical enhancement.
At deadline, Baylor officials were not available for comment.
