Thomas Jefferson University Health has officially completed its acquisition of Lehigh Valley Health Network, writes Harold Brubaker for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Jefferson’s acquisition creates one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the nation. It also continues Jefferson’s remarkable growth from just three hospitals in 2015 to now 32 less than a decade later.

With its acquisition, Jefferson now has more than $14 billion in combined annual revenue, making it among the 15 biggest nonprofit health systems nationally by revenue.

Jefferson CEO Joseph Cacchione said one of the system’s goals is to preserve health care and in rural and urban areas where many providers don’t want to be.

He added that acquiring Lehigh Valley Health Network “will allow us to continue to have a big community presence from the rural areas to the urban areas and all points in between.”

As the two systems begin their work together, one of the first orders of business is clinical integration.

Another early goal is to extend its clinical trials across the Lehigh system.

Cacchione will remain CEO of the entire organization; Brian Nester, Lehigh Valley’s former CEO, will become Jefferson’s chief operating officer; and Baligh R. Yehia, president of Jefferson Health, will continue leading those operations on top of also being chief transformation officer for the entire system.

Read more about Jefferson’s new acquisition of Lehigh Valley Health in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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