The two healthcare providers will combine on December 1, 2022.
The Board of Trustees for The University of Kentucky has approved a plan that will make King's Daughters—a system comprised of two acute-care hospitals totaling 465 licensed beds—part of UK Healthcare—a healthcare provider with over $6 billion in net patient revenue.
"Our vision is for the University of Kentucky to advance the Commonwealth in everything that we do. The health and well-being of our people is critical to that vision," UK President Eli Capilouto said in an email release. "King's Daughters and its team will help UK move this vision forward in Eastern Kentucky and the success of this relationship is a testament to the power of UK’s work to advance the Commonwealth."
Leaders with King’s Daughters and UK have been working together for the past 18 months as members of the non-profit Royal Blue Health LLC. Combining UK and King’s Daughters will expand healthcare access for the people of Kentucky.
The UK Board approved making King's Daughters part of UK effective Dec. 1, 2022. The transaction involves a "member substitution," which the statement says is a common method for bringing nonprofit systems together. In this case, it involves UK—through a subsidiary called Beyond Blue—obtaining all the membership rights for RBH. The corporate structure of King's Daughters will remain intact.
"King’s Daughters has been serving the healthcare needs of Eastern Kentucky, southern Ohio, and western West Virginia for more than 120 years," said Kristie Whitlatch, president and CEO of King's Daughters said in the release. "Expanding the relationship with the University of Kentucky gives me great confidence we are positioning the health system and all its subsidiaries to be stronger for generations to come."
Amanda Schiavo is the Finance Editor for HealthLeaders.