Kaufman Hall Advises Gwinnett Health System on Potential Merger With Northside Hospital

Gwinnett Health System (GHS) and Northside Hospital announced that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to begin discussions to combine their operations. Kaufman Hall is serving as strategic and financial advisor to GHS in evaluating the potential partnership with Northside Hospital.

If a final agreement is reached, the partnership is expected to provide both organizations with increased potential for improvements in quality of care, patient access, and the optimization of healthcare value by better organizing how care is delivered. This potential combination will create a major healthcare system serving rapidly growing areas of the Atlanta region as well as North Georgia.

In a joint statement issued on September 2, the leaders of GHS and Northside said that joining forces is the best way to prepare for the future needs of patients and their families.

Kaufman Hall’s role and activities commenced with an assessment and evaluation of GHS’s strategic alternatives inside its service area and broader market, including the option to remain an independent entity. The System Board of Directors ultimately determined that the organization would best achieve its mission, vision, and strategic plan by partnering with an organization that offers strong resources and complementary capabilities that can help accelerate the transformation required for it to succeed in the new healthcare environment.

As exclusive advisor to GHS, Kaufman Hall led the partnership process to ensure that its partnership goals and objectives were met. As a part of this process, Kaufman Hall identified a select group of potential non-profit partners, each with a strong strategic and financial rationale for affiliating with GHS. Kaufman Hall led the partnership’s overall planning and timing, prepared all marketing and solicitation materials, contacted the potential partners, received and analyzed proposals, helped conduct site visits and interviews, coordinated all potential partner presentations, and participated in developing and negotiating the letter of intent on behalf of GHS.

To learn more about how Kaufman Hall is assisting healthcare organizations with partnership decisions and transactions, contact Kristofer Blohm kblohm@kaufmanhall.com.