Judge OKs Virtua acquisition of Lourdes Health and its hospitals
Judge Paula Dow issued a court order approving the proposed transaction Tuesday morning following a brief hearing at the Olde Historic Courthouse in Mount Holly that featured no objections.
MOUNT HOLLY — A Superior Court judge has given the green light to Virtua’s plans to acquire Lourdes Health and its two hospitals in Willingboro and Camden.
Judge Paula Dow issued a court order approving the proposed transaction Tuesday morning following a brief hearing at the Olde Historic Courthouse. No objections were made during the hearing.
The proposed deal is expected to be finalized shortly and calls for Evesham-based Virtua to acquire Lourdes’ two hospitals, Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro and Our Lady of Lourdes in Camden, as well as Lourdes’ nursing schools, medical associates and cardiology offices.
The acquisition is considered a “sole-member substitution” and is more akin to a merger than a purchase, so it was not subject to a Certificate of Need Review by the New Jersey Department of Health. Under the agreement, Virtua will replace Maxis as Lourdes’ parent company, but Lourdes will continue to have its own separate governing board and the Lourdes name will continue to be used, although Virtua will have the authority to “co-brand.”