A small community hospital merger began with hope. Being acquired by a larger health system could be a lifeline, and it was assumed that their arrival would be welcomed, even celebrated. Instead, staff felt stripped of identity and autonomy. “We thought they’d see us as saviors,” the acquiring CIO later admitted. “They saw us as dictators.” The change was top-down and abrupt with little communication or cultural sensitivity. Trust eroded quickly as a result and turnover soared. Halfway through, the organizations pulled the plug, unwinding the deal entirely. It was a costly, painful lesson that I see playing out all too often across the country.

Hospitals and health system acquisitions reached record highs in recent years , with a significant proportion of those acquisitions (~30%) inv

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