Penn Medicine and Princeton HealthCare System Officially Merge

This is Penn's first major expansion into New Jersey.


Rendering of hospital rebrand. Photo courtesy of PHCS.

On Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania Health System officially added its first New Jersey member — Princeton HealthCare System — finalizing a merger plan that was first announced in 2016.

The New Jersey system and its affiliates, including the University Medical Center of Princeton, Princeton House Behavioral Health, Princeton HomeCare and the Princeton Medicine physician network located in Plainsboro, New Jersey are officially part of Penn Medicine. And as part of the deal, Princeton HealthCare System will now be known as Penn Medicine Princeton Health. The hospital’s new name will be Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center.

The joining of the two hospital systems represents an exciting new chapter in Penn Medicine’s growth, said University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Ralph W. Muller in a statement.

“PHCS has an impressive reputation for providing high-quality care to patients close to home, and innovating in many types of community-based health and wellness initiatives,” said Muller. “Now, we can offer a powerful partnership to patients throughout the region PHCS serves, continuing the services they already depend on, coupled with access to world-class care for complex conditions and innovative clinical trials available at Penn Medicine.”

Princeton HealthCare System is located about 40 miles north of Philadelphia and provides inpatients and outpatient hospital care behavioral health and addiction services, rehabilitation, in-home nursing, hospice care and fitness and wellness services to more than 1.3 million people in central New Jersey, according to the system. The network employs about 3,000 staff and has an active medical staff of nearly 1,300 physicians.

“This is a significant day in our history, and we look forward to being an even stronger organization, clinically and financially, as we continue to fulfill our almost century-old mission of serving this community,” said PHCS president and CEO Barry S. Rabner. “We could not ask for a better partner than Penn Medicine. Members of our community will continue to receive high-quality care right here, close to home. They also will benefit from easier access to the latest medical breakthroughs, clinical trials, cutting-edge technologies and specialized clinical expertise—both here and elsewhere in the Penn Medicine system.”

Both hospitals have consistently ranked high in national rankings. U.S. News and World Report has named the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania one of the nation’s top 10 hospitals for the past four years. University Medical Center of Princeton was ranked in the top 20 hospitals of the New York metropolitan region in U.S. News and World Report’s 2017-18 Best Hospitals ranking.