Mercy Medical Center Joins Cleveland Clinic Health System

Monday, February 01, 2021

Tags: Mercy Medical Center , Cleveland Clinic

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Cleveland Clinic names Timothy Crone, M.D., President of Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital

Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, CANTON, Ohio: Cleveland Clinic and Sisters of Charity Health System officials announced today that Mercy Medical Center is now a full member of the Cleveland Clinic health system while maintaining its Catholic identity through sponsorship by the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine.

All services at Mercy Medical Center, including COVID-19 response, will proceed without interruption. Patients will continue to see their same physicians and providers at their current locations. Mercy Medical Center’s employees will continue delivering care, and all operations and appointments for inpatient and outpatient services will proceed as scheduled. All current insurance plans will be accepted at the hospital.

“Today, Mercy Medical Center is transitioning to new ownership after 115 years of care and service with my congregation, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. I want to take this moment to thank our Mercy family, as well as members of the Stark County community, who worked hand in hand with the Sisters of Charity since the beginning to provide for the health care needs of this community.  Our hospital is well known for its life-saving patient care innovations, compassion and dedication, and that is why Mercy remains at the top for health care in the Stark County community,” said Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA, congregational leader of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. “We appreciate that this legacy will continue and grow with Cleveland Clinic as it delivers quality care and respects the Catholic identity of this hospital carrying the vision well into the future.”  

Becoming a full member of Cleveland Clinic brings many benefits, including expanding high-quality services; improving technology; providing support and investment to address additional needs in the community; building opportunities for physician collaboration; and increasing the ease of access to the most highly specialized services for patients in Stark County and surrounding communities.

“Mercy Medical Center has touched countless lives with high-quality, compassionate care. At Cleveland Clinic, this has also been our commitment for 100 years. Our mission is caring for life, researching for health and educating those who serve,” said Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic, M.D. “We are united by a noble purpose to care for others. Together, we will deliver exceptional care to patients in Stark County and beyond as we continue the Catholic tradition of healing the body, mind and spirit.”

Mercy Medical Center will now be formally known as Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, a new name that reflects both organizations. 

“Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital’s name brings together the renowned care of Cleveland Clinic, with the faith-based tradition of Mercy Medical Center,” said Donald A. Malone Jr., M.D., President of Cleveland Clinic’s Ohio Hospitals and Family Health Centers. “Our focus will be on ensuring a safe environment of care, caring for caregivers, and keeping Mercy Hospital strong to best serve our patients.”

Cleveland Clinic today named Timothy Crone, M.D., M.B.A, as the new president of Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital. Dr. Crone is an experienced leader, clinician and educator who since 2019 has been Chief Medical Officer at Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital, a 500-bed acute care hospital on Cleveland’s east side. His previous positions on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus include medical director of Enterprise Business Intelligence and Analytics in Medical Operations, and vice chairman for the Department of Hospital Medicine. Dr. Crone has been a staff hospitalist at Cleveland Clinic since 2010, and like other presidents at Cleveland Clinic’s regional hospitals, plans to serve in a clinical role caring for patients at Mercy Hospital.

“Joining Mercy Hospital caregivers at such a significant moment in their journey is a tremendous honor and privilege. I am truly impressed and inspired by our likeminded commitment to patients and Mercy’s eagerness to continuously improve quality and safety,” said Dr. Crone. “Together, we will carry Mercy Hospital’s Catholic mission forward through the current pandemic, and prepare to meet tomorrow’s healthcare needs for the community we serve.”

Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital becomes the 19^th hospital in the Cleveland Clinic health system. It is a 476-bed hospital serving Stark, Carroll, Wayne, Holmes and Tuscarawas counties and parts of southeastern Ohio. It has 620 members on its medical staff and employs 2,700 people. U.S. News & World Report ranks Mercy Medical Center as 17th on its list of Ohio’s best hospitals.

“I know that Cleveland Clinic will support Mercy as it continues this legacy,” said Thomas J. Strauss, president & CEO of the Sisters of Charity Health System. “I have always been moved by the compassion and commitment to high quality patient care within every Mercy caregiver. Throughout the pandemic, the faith-based mission of this hospital has been even more evident in everyone’s actions.”

Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital is located in the southern region of Cleveland Clinic’s service network in Ohio. Cleveland Clinic currently operates 12 regional hospitals in Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Tuscarawas counties. Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital will be the second Catholic-affiliated hospital to join the Cleveland Clinic health system. Marymount Hospital in Garfield Heights, Ohio, was the first in the Cleveland Clinic health system.

Officials from the Cleveland Clinic and Sisters of Charity health systems announced in September 2019 that they had signed a letter of intent for Mercy Medical Center to become part of Cleveland Clinic. The work to finalize the agreement was briefly interrupted by the pandemic, and the required state and federal regulatory reviews were recently completed.

The agreement has met requirements of the Vatican and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 67,554 employees worldwide are more than 4,520 salaried physicians and researchers, and 17,000 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,026-bed health system that includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 19 hospitals, more than 220 outpatient facilities, and locations in southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2019, there were 9.8 million total outpatient visits, 309,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 255,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/CCforMedia and twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org. Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.

About Sisters of Charity Health System

The Sisters of Charity Health System was established in 1982 as the parent corporation for the sponsored ministries of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine in Ohio and South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine is a congregation of women religious that, since founding in 1851, continues a faith-based legacy of high-quality, compassionate care in partnership with its co-ministers, who are the heart and hands of the ministry.

The Sisters of Charity Health System solely owns St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The health system also oversees three grantmaking foundations located in Cleveland, Canton and Columbia, South Carolina. Each foundation sponsors significant community initiatives and collaborations that address causes and consequences of poverty. Outreach organizations include Joseph’s Home, a unique residential care center for homeless men in Cleveland; Early Childhood Resource Center for people working in childcare in all settings in Canton; Healthy Learners, a health care resource for children from low-income families in South Carolina; and the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, a state-wide organization supporting initiatives to reengage fathers in the lives of their children. The Sisters of Charity Health System also provides residential elder care services at Regina Health Center in Richfield, Ohio, and Light of Hearts Vila in Bedford, Ohio. More information at sistersofcharityhealth.org.

Media Contacts: 

• Rebecca Gallant, Sisters of Charity Health System, 216-288-0239, rgallant@sistetsofcharityhealth.org 
• Cindy Hickey, Mercy Medical Center, 330-284-8489, cindy.hickey@cantonmercy.org
• Joe Milicia, Cleveland Clinic, 330-801-1204, milicij@ccf.org