Piedmont and St. Joseph's hospitals terminate negotiations

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

St. Joseph's and Piedmont hospitals have terminated their talks to create a partnership that would have combined much of their health systems, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

The two major metro Atlanta hospitals could not agree on a plan that would be beneficial to both, according to a person at St. Joseph's Hospital familiar with the negotiations.

The hospitals had signed a letter of intent in April to enter into exclusive negotiations for 90 days to create a "joint operating company." Such a company does not represent a formal merger or acquisition by one party of the other, but rather the creation of a separate company with its own board of directors that would provide services that benefit both health systems.

The two hospitals could not agree on how the partnership should be structured, according to a  person who the AJC agreed not to identify because that person was not authorized to speak on the matter.

In April, St. Joseph's officials said they expected to include most of the health systems physical assets in the partnership. St. Joseph's has two hospitals and a research center.

The partnership was expected to combine the two health system's computer information systems into a new system to hold patient records, and could have led to the creation of new health facilities.