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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare has completed its merger with Colorado hospital system SCL Health, which leaders say will create "a model health system" for providing care to residents in surrounding states.
The combined system now serves patients in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Kansas.
"With this merger, we'll create a model for the future of health care that focuses on keeping people healthy and proactively addresses causes of illness through high-quality, affordable, and accessible care to more patients," Dr. Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, said in a prepared statement.
He will continue to lead the organization, according to the statement. With the merger finalized, the company will retain the name Intermountain Healthcare.
Intermountain leaders said the combined companies employ more than 59,000 people and operate 33 hospitals and 385 clinics across seven states. The organization also insures 1 million people in Utah and Idaho. The merger makes Intermountain Healthcare the 11th-largest nonprofit health care system in the country.
Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt will serve as the new board chairman for the combined organization. In previous roles, he served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and secretary of Health and Human Services, and as a three-time elected governor of Utah.
The board also includes representation from both Intermountain Healthcare and SCL Health former boards. The most recent Intermountain Healthcare Board Chairwoman Gail Miller, and most recent SCL Health Board Chairman Michael L. Fordyce will remain members on the new board, serving as vice chairs for region boards in their respective cities.
Intermountain Healthcare will remain headquartered in Salt Lake City, with regional offices in Broomfield, Colorado, and Las Vegas.
The merger marks the second attempt in recent years to combine forces with another regional health care system. In 2020, Intermountain's plans to merge with Midwest system Sanford Health were scrapped after Sanford put in new leadership.
Intermountain Healthcare announced its plans to merge with SCL Health in September last year, touting its similarities to the Utah system as they both began as faith-based nonprofits.
