BJC, Saint Luke’s Moving Ahead With Missouri Merger

BJC Health System of St. Louis and Saint Luke's Health System of Kansas City are moving ahead with their agreement to combine after satisfying all regulatory reviews. The transaction is expected to close Jan. 1, 2024.

The agreement follows a letter of intent signed in May 2023 by both nonprofit organizations. As a combined system of approximately $10 billion in revenue with 28 hospitals and hundreds of clinics and service centers, BJC and Saint Luke’s reach will extend across Missouri, southern Illinois and eastern Kansas.

Saint Luke’s will officially join BJC, and together, operate as a single, integrated healthcare organization that serves two regions with a distinct brand in each: BJC HealthCare in the St. Louis region and Saint Luke’s in the Kansas City region.

“This is an exciting day for the future of healthcare in the Midwest,” said BJC President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Liekweg, in a statement. “Our thorough due diligence review, in partnership with Saint Luke’s, has affirmed the vital opportunities we have to improve healthcare across the communities we serve. As an integrated health system, we will be unwavering in our commitment to provide extraordinary care to our communities, while creating the region’s premier destination to practice world-class medicine, discover clinical breakthroughs and deliver innovative models of care.”  

Liekweg will continue to serve as CEO of the integrated health system. Saint Luke’s CEO Melinda Estes, M.D., has announced plans to retire at the end of the year after delaying her planned 2021 departure to see Saint Luke’s, its patients, and teams through the pandemic.

Currently, BJC includes 14 hospitals and multiple health service organizations. Services provided by BJC include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care, and hospice. BJC’s academic hospitals, Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, are affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine. 

Saint Luke’s has more than 14 hospitals and campuses and more than 100 primary care and specialty offices, treating patients in 65 specialty services across 67 counties in Missouri and Kansas.

The integrated health system’s leadership team and board of directors will include representation from both BJC and Saint Luke’s.