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UPHS/DCHS merger talks go nowhere

One of the many reports making its way through the local community relative to the future of UP Health System’s plans for health care in the Upper Peninsula came to an abrupt end last week with the announcement that Dickinson County Healthcare System and UP Health System have terminated their non-binding letter of intent.

Lifepoint owns the Marquette hospital while Dickinson County Healthcare System is a publicly owned facility in Iron Mountain.

Top leadership for both institutions issued statements that were included in a press release distributed to local media.

Not surprisingly, what Bill Edberg, chairman of the DCHS Board of Trustees and Brian Sinotte, market president of UP Health System, said in the press release contained few details relative to what may or may not have derailed the talks.

The UPHS/DCHS talks were made public in late July, around the time that private-equity firm Apollo Global Management announced that LifePoint Health Inc. and RCCH HealthCare Partners LLC — which is owned by funds managed by Apollo affiliates — entered into a definitive agreement to merge companies.

UPHS officials say they’re here for the long run. They currently have three U.P. facilities — Marquette, Hancock and Ishpeming — and may acquire more.

And with a nearly $300 million facility set to open locally next year, it sure looks to us like they plan on being here for many years.

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