Waterbury and Saint Mary's Hospitals to Merge; Create New $400M Facility

Editor's Note: The following news release was issued by Matt Burgard, spokesman for Waterbury Hospital.

Officials at Greater Waterbury Health Network, Inc., which represents Waterbury Hospital, today announced that they have signed a letter of intent to merge with the previously announced joint venture (JV) between LHP Hospital Group, Inc. (LHP) and Saint Mary's Health System, Inc., representing Saint Mary's Hospital.

The combined joint venture will invest $400 million to construct a new state-of-the-art medical center that will replace both The Waterbury Hospital and Saint Mary's Hospital. The combined revenue of both hospitals will be over $520 million, making it one of the larger hospitals in the State of Connecticut.

“This is a momentous day for The Waterbury Hospital and the community we serve,” said Carl Contadini, Chairman of The Waterbury Hospital Board of Trustees. “After thoroughly analyzing the health care needs of the greater Waterbury region, we concluded that coming together with LHP and Saint Mary’s to build a modern, state-of-the-art replacement facility would bring the best in health care to patients for generations to come. We will not only create new construction jobs and help the local economy but we will position the Greater Waterbury community to become the regional leader for health care services in southern New England. We could not be more pleased.”

LHP will own an 80% interest in the combined joint venture, with GWHN and Saint Mary’s each owning a 10% interest. Governance will be shared among all three parties.

The combined joint venture will commit to operate its health care facilities in accordance with the “community benefit standards” applicable to not-for-profit health care systems, and will also operate in accordance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic health care services.  There is a commitment to provide the continuation of all health care services now available in Greater Waterbury.

“We are delighted that The Waterbury Hospital has chosen to partner with LHP and Saint Mary's,” said Dan Moen, Chief Executive Officer of LHP. “These two fine hospitals have provided quality health care services to the greater Waterbury community for more than 100 years, and LHP is honored to become a part of that tradition and the exciting future that lies ahead.” 

“We look forward to facilitating the construction of a new modern, state-of-the-art hospital facility and building a collaborative hospital environment that includes physicians, caregivers and the community.  I commend the leaders of Waterbury and Saint Mary's for their vision and courage in taking this significant step," added Moen.

 “The combined joint venture is an extremely welcome development for the medical staff of Waterbury Hospital and the patients we serve,” said Carl B. Sherter, MD, Chief of The Waterbury Hospital Medical Staff. “The construction of a modern, high-tech replacement facility means that physicians will be able to provide the most advanced, sophisticated health care available for years to come.”

“The combined joint venture between LHP/Saint Mary’s and The Waterbury Hospital is the realization of a shared vision to create a combined health care delivery system to serve the Greater Waterbury community,” said Robert Mazaika, Chair of the Saint Mary’s Joint Venture Task Force. “The Waterbury Hospital and Saint Mary’s have collaborated on a number of successful ventures over the years - including the Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center and the Heart Center of Greater Waterbury - that have greatly benefited the community. Now we have the opportunity to transform the delivery of local health care as a combined system.” 

Dr. Jerry Sugar, who serves on the Saint Mary’s Joint Venture Task Force, concurred. “This is a historic day for Greater Waterbury and our two community hospitals. It will ensure that we can deliver outstanding health care for generations. LHP is an outstanding partner that truly values working with doctors, and we are very lucky to have them. This is also an excellent example of a private corporation and not-for-profit hospitals coming together to create something that would not have otherwise been possible.”  

The Waterbury’s Hospital affiliation with the combined joint venture will allow Waterbury Hospital to retire all of its existing debt, provide security for their pensioner, leverage economies of scale for access to capital and purchasing power, and share clinical best practices, providing more efficient delivery of services to patients in our community.