Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan Announce Closing Date for Proposed Joint Venture

DETROIT – Henry Ford Health and Ascension Michigan today announced plans to close their proposed joint venture on Sept. 30, 2024, and launch their newly combined organization on Oct. 1. The joint venture will bring together Ascension’s southeast Michigan and Genesys healthcare facilities and assets with Henry Ford’s, enabling the newly combined organization to make a dramatic impact on the health of the communities it serves – improving outcomes, access and experience; prioritizing population health and value-based care, championing equity for all, and partnering to advance innovation, academic medicine and advanced, complex care.

“Words can’t express how excited we are to find ourselves at this moment,” said Bob Riney, President and CEO, Henry Ford Health. “Since we announced our proposed joint venture last fall, we’ve been engaged in thoughtful planning across our organizations – all focused on how we plan to come together to build the future of health on behalf of those we serve. It’s given us a wonderful opportunity to make deeper commitments to the sacred mission and privilege of healthcare – and we can’t wait to make this a reality for the people of Michigan and beyond.”

Carol Schmidt, FACHE, Senior Vice President, Ascension, and CEO, Ascension Michigan, will support the first phase of transition and integration, partnering with Riney to ensure the ongoing success of the joint venture’s integration efforts.

The combined organization would employ approximately 50,000 team members at more than 550 sites across Michigan. Riney also announced changes to his executive team aligned with the strategic priorities of the expanded organization and effective Oct. 1. Among the changes:

• Dr. Adnan Munkarah will serve as President, Clinical Enterprise & Chief Physician Executive, stewarding growth, excellence, innovation and efficiency across the care delivery system and clinical enterprise, and further elevating the role of the physician in the health system’s leadership approach.

• Denise Brooks-Williams will serve as Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, overseeing operations, supply chain, support services and other areas across the combined enterprise.

• Robin Damschroder will serve as President, Value-Based Enterprise and Chief Financial Officer, a nod to the organization’s expanding population health and value-based care strategies.

• Steven Bender has been appointed Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer, effective Oct. 21. Bender is joining Henry Ford Health from Geisinger Health in Pennsylvania and has more than two decades of experience serving hospitals, integrated delivery systems, and physician networks. Bender also spent more than a decade in Catholic healthcare in Michigan.

• The health system also recently announced the appointment of Dennis Butts to Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Network Development Officer. Butts joined the system last month from strategic consulting firm Guidehouse, where he served as partner and Health Strategy & Innovation Leader.

Riney also announced additional appointments of Ascension Michigan executives to Henry Ford Health’s senior leadership team:

• Patrick Kelly, currently Market Leader, Ascension Michigan Foundation and Chief Mission Integration Officer, will serve in a similar capacity at Henry Ford Health. As the system’s Chief Mission Integration Officer, he’ll partner closely with other health system leaders to unite and advance the new joint venture’s mission, vision, and values.

• Dr. Doug Apple, currently Ascension Michigan’s Chief Clinical Officer; and Tom Klein, Chief Operating Officer for Ascension Medical Group Michigan, will also join Henry Ford Health’s senior leadership team, with details of their appointments to be shared in the coming weeks.
  
  

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MEDIA CONTACT: mediarelations@hfhs.org