| Formation | September 29, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | West Reading, PA |
President & Chief Executive Officer | Michael Stern, FACHE |
| Website | towerhealth.org |
Tower Health is a health system based in West Reading, Pennsylvania. [1] It was created in 2017 when the former Reading Health System acquired five hospitals. [2]
The 2017 formation of Tower Health represented a significant strategic expansion step by Reading Health System to extend and expand its regional presence and service capabilities. [3] The ambitious effort came with initial fiscal strain, however. [4] The five hospitals acquired by Reading Health System collectively recorded a $17 million operating loss for the June 30, 2017, end of fiscal year, shortly prior to the acquisition being finalized. [5] This underlying fiscal weakness in the acquired firms demonstrates that the strategic choice to proceed with the acquisition was a aggressive step. It suggests that projected long-term benefits such as increased market share and wider geographic reach were given more importance compared to the short-term fiscal well-being of the new companies. This early financial exposure of the newly affiliated hospitals subsequently contributed to a significant part of the dire financial issues and costly expansion Tower Health would encounter in the next years, paving the way for later divestitures and hospital closures. [6]