Perry Memorial Hospital, Princeton

PRINCETON — The Boards of Directors for Perry Memorial Hospital here and OSF HealthCare, along with the Princeton City Council have adopted an affiliation agreement that will allow for a transfer of ownership of Perry Memorial Hospital from the City of Princeton to OSF HealthCare.

“Our longstanding relationship with Perry Memorial Hospital, which spans nearly 50 years, has been successful because of our deep mutual respect and shared commitment to residents of Bureau, Putnam, and Marshall counties,” said Bob Sehring, CEO of OSF HealthCare in a Jan. 26 news release. “We are pleased to be taking this next step in our journey together to serve these communities with the greatest care and love.”

Perry Memorial had conducted a two-year intensive study of the most effective way to ensure that the City of Princeton and its surrounding communities would have local access to quality health care well into the future. A variety of partnership options were considered.

The integration is expected to occur sometime this summer. Over the next few months, the organizations will seek the necessary regulatory and canonical approvals while continuing work on planning strategies to meet the needs of residents of Bureau, Putnam, and Marshall counties.

Perry Memorial Hospital is a municipally owned, 25-bed critical access facility and is one of Bureau County’s largest employers. OSF HealthCare is an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, headquartered in Peoria.