Penn Medicine to acquire Doylestown Health system in Bucks County

The 247-bed hospital and its satellites will become part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System pending regulatory approvals

Doylestown Hospital is being acquired by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, officials announced Thursday.
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The University of Pennsylvania Health System has agreed to acquire Doylestown Health in Bucks County, a move that will make Doylestown Hospital the seventh in Penn Medicine's system, pending approvals from federal and state regulators. 

The nonprofit Hospital has 247 beds and more than 435 physicians across 50 specialities. Doylestown Health also has an outpatient rehabilitation center, a breast cancer treatment center in Warrington and another outpatient center in Wrightstown, in addition to urgent care, primary care and specialty care facilities elsewhere in Bucks County.

Officials from both health systems announced that UPHS had signed a letter of intent to acquire Doylestown Health on Thurday.

"We are excited to explore this opportunity with Doylestown Health, which has a strong, historic commitment to patients in the Northern region of the areas we serve," UPHS CEO Kevin B. Mahoney said.

UPHS has added three regional hospitals over the last decade — Chester County Hospital in 2013, Lancaster General Health, in 2015 and Princeton Health in 2018. In Philadelphia, Penn Medicine operates the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Pennsylvania Hospital.

Officials said the process of integrating Doylestown Health into UPHS will likely take several months to complete. 

"Doylestown Health is deeply committed to maintaining our mission to provide patients the highest quality of care, close to home," Doylestown Health President and CEO James Brexler said.

Brexler said he's excited to see how the deal with Penn Medicine will position the century-old hospital in Doylestown to offer expanded clinical services to the community.

Penn Medicine previously partnered with Doylestown Health to open a radiation oncology facility in 2011, making the Bucks County health system part of the broader Penn Cancer Network in the Philadelphia region.

The pending acquisition comes amid years of expansion by competitor Jefferson Health, which has grown into an 18-hospital network and recently announced plans to acquire Lehigh Valley Health Network.