Michigan hospitals plan for merger

Two Michigan hospitals are planning a merger.

Scheurer Health and Harbor Beach Community Hospital are planning a merger of the two organizations serving the "thumb" of Michigan.

Scheurer Health and the Harbor Beach Community Hospitals boards have signed a memorandum of understanding to come together. The two small hospitals say they are aiming to provide better care and joining forces in hopes of staying independent. The hospitals will fall under the umbrella of the Scheurer Network, but officials say it’s not a purchase or acquisition, since no money or assets are changing hands.

Scheurer Health is based in Pigeon, Michigan, and Harbor Beach is based in the small city of Harbor Beach. Scheurer Health operates a 25-bed acute care hospital, while Harbor Beach provides 45 total beds. The organizations say they are looking to expand healthcare services in the region, known as the “thumb” of Michigan.

The two hospitals will remain separate entities and keep their identities, but Harbor Beach will also reflect the branding of Scheurer Health, officials said. Scheurer is assuming financial responsibility for Harbor Beach.

Officials with the systems said employees' jobs are safe. As the integration proceeds, the organizations said that they will look to ensure that any job reductions occur through attrition and that they would work to ensure no jobs are lost.

Harbor Beach also operates an extended care skilled nursing unit, which will remain open. Down the road, Scheurer said it could evaluate the “continued efficacy of the unit” to ensure it’s meeting the community’s needs.

Jill Wehner, president & CEO of Harbor Beach Community Hospital, and Ross Ramsey, president & CEO of Scheurer Health, both touted the benefits of coming together in a video outlining the merger plans. Ramsey will continue to lead Scheurer Health, while Wehner will remain president of Harbor Beach.

“We’ve always worked together in the past, and now, in a more formal way,” Wehner said, adding that it would keep “our jobs local, as well as the decisions that impact your healthcare local.”

“This allows for operational efficiency, increased stability and allows us to remain independent,” Ramsey said.

The two boards of the organizations will be merged, and the new board will include members from both systems and representation from communities throughout the region.

“It is our goal at Scheurer to be here for the long haul,” Ramsey said. “And to do that, we need to grow where needed, expand where possible, and keep an eye to the future at all times.”

The plans for Scheurer and Harbor Beach reflect the continued trend of partnerships and mergers in the Michigan hospital market over the last couple of years.

Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan formally came together Oct. 1 to form a new, $10.5 billion system. Ascension’s hospitals in southeast Michigan and its Genesys facilities have joined Henry Ford, and the combined organization is known as Henry Ford Health. Officials said it is not a merger or acquisition, and no money has changed hands between the organizations.

MyMichigan Health completed its acquisition of three hospitals from Ascension Michigan in August. The deal also included an ambulatory surgery center and associated physician practices.

The University of Michigan Health acquired the Sparrow Health System in April 2023.