The shareholders of Columbia Healthcare Corp. and Hospital Corp. of America, which operates St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City and the Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, have voted to merge the two companies.
Known as Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., the new company has 130,000 employees, 192 health-care facilities in 26 states, England and Switzerland and revenue of $10 billion.Max Lauderdale, president and chief executive officer of St. Mark's, and Fred Morgan, president and chief executive officer of the Davis facility, said the merger will have a significant impact on the future of health care in the community.
"As Columbia/HCA moves forward with our strategy of working with physicians to build comprehensive networks of health care services in local markets, we will improve both the quality and efficiency of health care while controlling costs," they said.
They said the merged company is the largest health-care provider in the United States, allowing it to create major advantages for its hospitals and other facilities.