Lang
1/30/24
The long transition of ownership for Mercy Iowa City finally ends on Wednesday.
That’s the date when University of Iowa Health Care takes over the hospital’s day-to-day operations. Mercy’s new name will be “University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Downtown”. The facility will also lose its private status and affiliation with the Catholic Church. An estimated 1,000 current Mercy employees will become employees of UI Health Care.
The journey to UI Health Care ownership has been a long one. Mercy Iowa City declared bankruptcy last year. A court had to eventually reopen the auction for the facility’s assets after the original winning bidder, Preston Hollow Community Capital, sparred with Mercy over how to fund operating losses. The University upped their original $20 million offer to $28 million to secure the Mercy assets.