
The move was made in response to decreased government reimbursements, reduced profit margins, and higher costs of care. Īscension announced plans to make changes to its business model in 2018, shifting away from a hospital-oriented business to one prioritizing outpatient care and telemedicine. In January, 2018, the parties announced a settlement, in which Ascension would pay $29.5 million to the plaintiffs. In April 2016, a class-action lawsuit was brought in federal court, alleging that Ascension subsidiary Wheaton Franciscan Services (in Glendale, Wisconsin), erred by treating its pension plan as though it was a "church plan," exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), a federal law governing employee pensions. In 2014, the company partnered in opening the $2 billion Health City Cayman Islands project, and sold its stake in 2017. In the process, the company brought its subsidiaries under a national umbrella and renamed all its hospitals to include the Ascension name, which the company hope would improve clients' understanding of the system. In 2012, the company underwent a restructuring and rebranding, dropping the "Health" moniker and going forward as Ascension. Joseph Health System merged to create Ascension Health. In 1999, the Daughters of Charity National Health System and Sisters of St. In addition to health and senior care facilities, Ascension also operates a for-profit venture capital subsidiary called Ascension Ventures, which invests in medical startups. The company is led by president and CEO Joseph R. Ascension had an operating revenue of $27.2 billion at the end of fiscal year 2021. It employs more than 142,000 people as of 2021. It operates more than 2,600 health care sites in 19 states and Washington, D.C., including 142 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities. īy the end of 2021, Ascension had 142,000 employees and 142 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities across the United States.Īscension is one of the largest nonprofit and Catholic health systems in the United States as of 2021. It was founded as a nonprofit Catholic healthcare network in 1999. Ascension is one of the largest private healthcare systems in the United States, ranking second in the United States by number of hospitals as of 2019.
