Penn Medicine continues growth with acquisition of Doylestown Health

After more than a year of work, Penn Medicine has completed its acquisition of Doylestown Health, continuing the health system’s expansion in the Philadelphia suburbs.

Penn Medicine has completed the acquisition of Doylestown Health in the Philadelphia suburbs. The system will now be known as Penn Medicine Doylestown Health.

Penn Medicine celebrated the completion of the deal Tuesday with an event at Doylestown Hospital. Doylestown became Penn Medicine’s seventh hospital, and it will now be known as Penn Medicine Doylestown Health.

Doylestown Hospital, a 247-bed community hospital, sits about 30 miles north of Philadelphia in Bucks County, one of the suburban counties surrounding the city. Doylestown also employs more than 600 providers.

Kevin B. Mahoney, president of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, said in a statement that acquiring Doylestown has been “a key part” of Penn Medicine’s strategy.

“Our goal is to transform health care into a source of ease and reassurance—simplifying care delivery, making it more accessible for patients, and creating a seamless, supportive experience at every step,” Mahoney said. “By combining trusted community care with the resources and expertise available through Penn Medicine, we ensure that high-quality, compassionate treatment is always within reach of patients in Bucks County and beyond.”

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Penn Medicine first announced its plans to acquire Doylestown Health in January 2024, and the organizations said in August that they had reached a definitive agreement to come together.

Doylestown Health had been struggling financially in recent years, but has shown signs of improvement with stronger revenues recently.

Jim Brexler, CEO of what is now Penn Medicine Doylestown Health, said that joining Penn will give Bucks County residents more access to specialty care services.

“Doylestown Hospital was founded with the principal mission to bring quality health care close to home for the patients we serve, and I can think of no better way to do that than by joining our region’s leading academic health system, which will allow for patients in our community to receive even more advanced care options,” Brexler said in a statement.

Doylestown Health says patients will continue to be able to see their own clinicians. Doylestown will continue its partnership with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to care for newborns in the intensive care nursery.

Penn Medicine and Doylestown had collaborated with greater frequency in recent years, with Doylestown participating in the Penn Cancer Network.

Over the last several years, Penn Medicine has also acquired Chester County Hospital, based in the Philadelphia suburbs; Lancaster General Hospital, based in Lancaster, Pa.; and Princeton Health, based in central New Jersey.

Penn Medicine also operates three hospitals in Philadelphia: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Pennsylvania Hospital.

The Pennsylvania hospital market has seen some changes in recent months. Jefferson Health, based in Philadelphia, completed its acquisition of the Lehigh Valley Health Network last August, forming a system of 32 hospitals. Lehigh Valley operates hospitals and clinics across northeastern Pennsylvania.

More academic medical centers have been acquiring community hospitals in recent years, and industry analysts expect that trend to continue.