December 18, 2025
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Virtua Health and ChristianaCare have decided against combining their sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland into one health system.
Virtua Health and ChristianaCare have abandoned a planned $6 billion merger, the health systems announced Thursday.
The health systems – two of the largest in the area – signed a letter of intent in July to explore the possibility of joining forces. The plan would have merged 600 health care sites in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland into one system and would have affected about 30,000 employees. Merging would have generated an estimated $6 billion in annual revenue.
But the health systems "have mutually agreed to terminate the Letter of Intent," they said in a statement. "After thoughtful evaluation, both organizations have determined that they can best fulfill their missions to serve their communities by continuing to operate independently."
The health systems did not detail why they decided against merging, but their statement said they are "committed to providing high quality, compassionate care and advancing the health and well-being of the patients and communities they serve."
Virtua Health, based in Marlton, has five hospitals in South Jersey. The health system operates two satellite emergency departments, 42 ambulatory surgery centers and 400 other sites. It has a cancer care affiliation with Penn Medicine and a pediatric partnership with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2019, Virtua took over Lourdes Health System, including its hospitals in Willingboro and Camden.
ChristianaCare is the largest health system in Delaware with four hospitals, a Level I trauma center and a freestanding emergency department.
