A partnership reinforced by the pandemic moved closer to becoming reality on Friday when Lifespan and Care New England submitted a revised Hospital Conversions Act (HCA) application with the Rhode Island Department of Health and the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General in their quest to merge the state’s two largest health care organizations.

While advocated by former Gov. Gina Raimondo, a merger of Lifespan and Care New England seemed improbable at best until the state was faced with COVID-19. The two worked together to build field hospitals and to coordinate testing and care, forging a relationship that resulted in talks and a vote of the two organizations to pursue a merger.

A joint release issued Friday reads: “We anticipate completing responses to the FTC’s information request over the coming weeks, having submitted many thousands of pages of information to the FTC to date, with more to come. 

“If approved, the merger of Lifespan and Care New England will provide Rhode Islanders with access to a full continuum of quality care from birth to end of life and an opportunity to receive the highest quality specialty care without traveling out of state. By coming together, Lifespan and Care England, combined with their robust academic affiliation with Brown University, will create the state’s first and only truly integrated academic health system that will fundamentally transform how health care is delivered in Rhode Island.”

The release goes on to say this will be achieved by improving both access to health care services and the quality of care across settings, reducing health disparities, and creating a world-class hub of research and innovation in Rhode Island. Also cited is a stronger financial footing through greater economies of scale

“Rhode Islanders want and deserve high quality care at an affordable cost,” said Timothy J. Babineau, MD, president and CEO of Lifespan. “Our first priority is to ensure that the affiliation moves forward in a way that improves healthcare in our state for patients, creating a system meeting the needs of all in our community, across race, language, and income. The new entity will enhance our ability to keep patients in Rhode Island for their care and continue to attract federal research dollars into Rhode Island in an even more competitive environment.”

Dr. James Fanale, President and CEO of Care New England, said, “We are pleased that the process has continued on track and look forward to continued dialogue with our regulators to ensure that they have all the necessary information to review and ultimately approve the proposed transaction. With everything going on in the world and in health care today, we must create the most resilient system as we can. ”