Brown University plans to invest $150 million in Lifespan and rename the largest health system in Rhode Island to Brown University Health as part of an expanded affiliation agreement.
Beginning July 1, Providence, Rhode Island-based Brown will give Lifespan $15 million to $25 million a year for seven years. The funding will be used for many initiatives, including physician recruitment, facility upgrades, research, electronic medical record improvements and community programs, Brown and Lifespan executives said in a news release Thursday.
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In addition, Brown will manage up to $800 million of Lifespan’s investment portfolio.
“It is critical that facilities, systems and technologies are not only modernized, but are cutting-edge in order to be able to compete with out-of-state companies, new entrants to the market and large national providers, particularly for-profit businesses,” John Fernandez, Lifespan president and CEO, said in the release.
The rebrand is expected to take place over the next several months, but Brown and Lifespan will remain separate, independent institutions, executives said in the release. Lifespan will continue its affiliations with other universities and colleges, such as the University of Rhode Island, for clinical programs that aren’t offered at Brown, they said.
Brown and Lifespan, a five-hospital system based in Providence, started their partnership in 1969. Brown was tied to Lifespan’s 2020 bid to merge with Care New England, one of several merger attempts involving the Providence-based system. The organizations called off the proposed merger in February 2022 amid opposition from state and federal regulators, who alleged the combination could form a monopoly.
