A. Lee Graham Reporter
Baylor Health Care System of Dallas and Scott & White Healthcare of Temple, Texas have signed a definitive agreement to form a new company. The planned transaction, announced late Wednesday and subject to customary regulatory review processes, is expected to close later this year. “I know that we are all proud of the hard work it took to complete this due diligence in a timely fashion, and we all look forward to operating as Baylor Scott & White Health,” said Jim Turner, board chairman, Baylor Health Care System, commenting in a news release. A Scott & White representative concurred. “I have been truly impressed with the results of the collaborative process our two organizations have carried out so far,” said Drayton McLane Jr., board chairman, Scott & White Healthcare. Under terms of the agreement, the new organization would comprise a parent company, Baylor Scott & White Health, and a service company, Baylor Scott & White Health Service, both guided by a team of leaders from both Baylor and Scott & White. Joel Allison, current president and CEO of Baylor Health Care System, would become CEO of the new parent company and the service company. Robert Pryor M.D., president and CEO of Scott & White Healthcare, would serve as president, chief operating officer and chief medical officer of the parent company and would be president of the service company. Gary Brock, current chief operating officer of Baylor Health Care System, would become president and chief operating officer of Baylor. Headquarters of the parent company would be located in Dallas, with the service company headquartered in Temple, south of Waco. Both the parent company and the service company would employ people in Dallas and Temple. “Our proposed new organization will build on a number of each other’s nationally recognized strengths, including Baylor’s 110-year legacy as a Christian ministry of healing,” Allison said. If the transaction is approved and finalized, the combined Baylor Scott & White Health would be an organization with total assets of $7.7 billion based on the most recent audited financial statements. The new system would include the organizations’ combined 43 hospitals, more than 500 patient care sites, more than 6,000 affiliated physicians, 34,000 employees and the Scott & White Health Plan.