Changes will come ‘immediately’ now that Nuvance merger with health care giant Northwell is official

News-Times – Wednesday, May 7, 2025
By Rob Ryser

DANBURY – The parent company that runs Danbury and Norwalk hospitals and scores of outpatient sites in western Connecticut has finalized its deal with New York health care giant Northwell, launching changes that residents will see as soon as this week.

“New signage will be in place across our campuses and major ambulatory sites immediately,” said Andrea Rynn, assistant vice president for community, government and public relations at Danbury-based Nuvance. “Our websites have a new landing page and there will be regular updates going forward regarding the merger’s next steps and new developments.”

The formalized agreement, which creates a $22 billion network with 100,000 employees, 1,100 outpatient sites and 28 hospitals in two states, comes one month after a Connecticut oversight agency approved the merger for its “positive impacts,” including a promise by Northwell to invest $1 billion in Nuvance hospitals.

Nuvance, which also runs hospitals in Sharon, New Milford and three New York towns in the Hudson River Valley, has been bleeding hundreds of millions of dollars annually and faced potential bankruptcy if not for Northwell’s bailout.

The deal gives New York’s largest health-care system access to new markets in Connecticut and the Hudson Valley.

“This partnership opens a new and exciting chapter for Northwell Health and Nuvance Health to take patient care and services to an even higher level,” said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell, in a statement. “We’re excited to move forward, united in our vision to transform health care and build a healthier future for the residents of Connecticut and New York.”

Dowling was referring to a health system that now serves 13 million people, with 22,000 nurses and 13,500 providers. The merger is expected to help Nuvance “attract and retain top talent, including medical, surgical and research specialists as well as nurses, allied health and business professionals,” according to a joint statement.

Nuvance’s top executive agreed.

“Joining forces with Northwell Health strengthens our ability to meet the evolving needs of patients and ensures we can provide exceptional care,” said Dr. John Murphy, president and CEO of Nuvance, in prepared remarks. “This is a transformative moment for our patients, employees and the communities we serve.”

When will health-care consumers see this transformation and who will help residents navigate the changes?

“We encourage folks to check into the websites frequently for updates in addition to following us on our social outlets, including Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn,” Rynn said.

Changes in service protocols are expected to be integrated over the next year, Rynn added.

“Teams across the organizations have been engaged in integration planning activities for several months to identify opportunities to strengthen care and promote efficiencies,” Rynn said. “While fully integrating the organizations will take time, the teams have begun the process to act on priority areas to improve services and achieve the benefits of the affiliation.”

To keep Northwell from importing higher prices into Connecticut, the state Office of Health Strategy required five years of price controls as a condition of its approval.

Meanwhile, Northwell will be investing in Nuvance.

“Our teams are currently meeting to identify paths to near and long-term investment solutions,” Rynn said. “We are very excited by the prospects ahead, including the planned pavilion at Norwalk Hospital.”

Rynn was referring to plans to build a seven-story patient pavilion tower, scheduled to begin construction in 2026.

“Efforts have been underway since (we) announced the affiliation in early 2024 to prioritize critical investments in hospital-based and ambulatory clinical programs, improve digital/information technology tools, and invest in critical infrastructure within the Nuvance network,” Rynn said. “Residents served by the Connecticut sites will see these investments begin to roll out over the coming months.”

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