In the last week of June, The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) announced its intention to acquire St. Vincent’s Health System, as part of the UAB Health System. According to the announcement, UAB expects the transaction to conclude in the fall of 2024, pending regulatory and canonical approvals.

In a statement published after the announcement, Bishop Steven J. Raica of Birmingham expressed his sadness in receiving the news. “It will be a devastating loss for our Catholic community, particularly to so many in our region who wish to receive care in facilities that adhere to Catholic faith and moral teaching,” wrote the bishop.

“For more than 125, St. Vincent’s has played a key role in the physical and spiritual welfare of the people of the Birmingham area and in outreach to the poor,” Bishop Raica continued.

In the announcement, UAB Health System CEO Dawn Bulgarella expressed her confidence in St. Vincent’s patients to “continue to have access to the healthcare services and providers they’ve come to trust, and ultimately gain access to a larger care network.” Bulgarella is further quoted to say, “UAB and St. Vincent’s exist to improve lives, and that purpose will drive our actions in the coming months and beyond.”

For Catholics in the diocese, however, the transaction also brings to a close the last Catholic health system operating in central and northern Alabama. Neither UAB nor St. Vincent’s representatives have yet disclosed any plans for provisions which might retain Ascension St. Vincent’s Catholic mission in the continuing operations.

Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System is part of a nation-wide Catholic institution, established with the approval of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Vatican. As such, the canonical approval Ascension St. Vincent’s is now seeking must come from the Holy See according to the laws governing the Catholic Church regarding the alienation (transfer of ownership) of its properties. As such, the final determination will be made by the Dicastery.

While the Diocese of Birmingham has no direct role in the decision, Bishop Raica has provided his opinion to the Dicastery, including that he sees no evident canonical reasons which would prevent this alienation from taking place. At the same time, Bishop Raica noted in his statement, “I have expressed my concerns about the wider impact that this transfer of ownership will have on the availability of Catholic healthcare in our area. I look forward to discussions with UAB Health System’s leadership to ensure provisions for continued care of those in economic poverty and for the spiritual health of patients, their families, and caregivers.”

The roots of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System lead back to the very beginning of medical care being offered in Birmingham. Shortly after the opening of St. Paul Catholic Church (now, Cathedral of St. Paul), the Daughters of Charity, a religious order established by St. Vincent DePaul in the 15th century, established Birmingham’s first hospital. According to the Ascension St. Vincent’s website, the sisters founded St. Vincent’s Hospital as “a ministry dedicated to spiritually centered, holistic care designed to sustain and improve the health of the community as well as its citizens.”

In a 2023 Mass marking the hospital’s 125 years of service, Bishop Raica said in his homily: “It has, over the course of years, been recognized for its excellence and achievement in many sectors. It has been and is a leader today in health care delivery by being stable yet resilient to the needs of the time.”

Should the acquisition receive all regulatory and canonical approvals, UAB Health System will assume ownership of not only Ascension St.Vincent’s hospitals in Birmingham, Pell City, Clanton, Oneonta, and Pell City, but also the One Nineteen Campus, the Trussville Freestanding Emergency Department, and imaging centers and clinics considered part of Ascension Medical Group.

In his statement on the acquisition, Bishop Raica concluded, “My prayers during this time are with all of the dedicated physicians, nurses, staff, and administrators of the Ascension St. Vincent System in our diocese, as well as the patients whom they lovingly serve with the care of Christ, the Divine Physician.”

To read Bishop Raica's complete statement, please click here.