GRMC Board Makes Mercy Decision

Grinnell Regional Medical Center’s Board of Directors decided last night not to pursue a letter of intent to merge with Mercy Medical Center-Des Moines. 

“The board recognizes that GRMC likely needs to integrate fully with a larger healthcare system to sustain viability because of the changes taking place in healthcare.  However, the board decided that now is not the right time to move toward a full merger with Mercy Medical Center,” says Todd Reding, chair of the GRMC board of directors.

“This was a difficult decision and is in no way critical of Mercy. In fact, we have been pleased with our affiliation relationship with Mercy Health Network over the past six years,” Reding says. “We appreciate all we have learned about Mercy and ourselves during this period of due diligence. We’re impressed with Mercy’s vision for expanding affordable and high-quality care across Iowa. The board is thankful for the excellent input we received throughout the process from GRMC employees, medical staff members, and the community, which contributed greatly to the board’s deliberations.”

Mercy and GRMC spent the last half of 2015 examining whether a more integrated relationship made sense. The conversations focused primarily on a merger.

“GRMC will continue to enjoy its looser affiliation with Mercy Health Network. Both GRMC and Mercy remain open to potential future discussions about partnerships that align with the mission of each organization, and those conversations will be ongoing,” Reding says.

Reding adds that the GRMC board will now take stock of how the medical center can best achieve its goals and objectives.