UAB Health adds 5 hospitals in Ascension St. Vincent's deal

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System Authority finalized its $450 million acquisition of Ascension St. Vincent's Health System.

The transaction included five Alabama hospitals, a specialty care and rehabilitation center, a freestanding emergency department, imaging centers and Ascension Medical Group clinics, according to a Friday news release.

Related: Why bigger is not necessarily better at Ascension

Acquired sites will carry the UAB St. Vincent's brand, the release said.

Birmingham, Alabama-based UAB Health signed an agreement in June to acquire Ascension St. Vincent's. The systems were already partnering on services such as neonatal, anesthesia, emergency and surgical care.

Almost all of St. Vincent's roughly 5,000 employees are staying on board, UAB Health CEO Dawn Bulgarella said at a special-called board meeting earlier this week.

"Every effort has been made and will continue to be made to make this transition as smooth as possible," Bulgarella said.

Former Ascension St. Vincent's CEO Jason Alexander will continue his role as senior vice president of Ascension, a UAB Health spokesperson said.

UAB Health operates more than 20 hospitals across Alabama post-merger. It plans to invest about $230 million over three years for capital spending at St. Vincent's, said Justin Fanning, assistant vice chancellor for investments and treasury at University of Alabama System, at the board meeting.

St. Louis-based Ascension has been looking to shrink its footprint in recent months. In March, it signed an agreement to sell three Michigan hospitals and an ambulatory surgery center to MyMichigan Health. Ascension signed another agreement in July to sell 13 Illinois hospitals to Prime Healthcare.

In October 2023, Ascension Michigan announced plans to form a joint venture with Henry Ford Health to create a combined $10.5 billion health system with 13 hospitals in the Detroit area.