Siemens teams with hospital giant CommonSpirit to acquire imaging vendor in ‘first of its kind’ deal
Siemens is banding together with hospital giant CommonSpirit Health to acquire a radiology vendor, the companies announced Wednesday.
The two are jointly buying Block Imaging, a Holt, Michigan-headquartered provider of refurbished medical equipment, servicing and parts. CommonSpirit and Siemens said the acquisition is aimed at providing “sustainable options” and supporting growing demand among hospitals, health systems and other care sites for multi-vendor parts and services.
“This acquisition … will enable us to offer even more value to our customers and their patients, while promoting efforts to repair and reuse equipment, helping to eliminate waste,” David Pacitti, president of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, said in a May 24 announcement. “Healthcare providers and industry need to work together to solve our common challenges.”
Siemens said the deal builds on an existing relationship with CommonSpirit, a Chicago-based nonprofit that’s the product of a 2019 merger between Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health. The Catholic system employs more than 25,000 physicians and other advanced-practice providers, operating across 138 hospitals and 2,000 care sites, tallying $33.9 billion in revenues for fiscal 2022.
Under terms of the agreement, Block Imaging will continue as a standalone entity, supplying parts to U.S. providers, creating a “more sustainable and cost-effective fleet of imaging equipment.” The deal is still subject to regulatory approval and other closing conditions. Block Imaging has been around since 1997 and has six locations around the world, with 170-plus team members and serving more than 100 countries. Its operations include a 120,000 square-foot refurbishment facility in the heart of mid-Michigan.
In May 24 social media posts, Block Imaging called the acquisition “the first of its kind.”
“Through this new agreement, Block Imaging will have the opportunity to expand our reach and accelerate our mission to provide a second chance at life for imaging equipment so that healthcare providers can provide a second chance at life for patients,” Josh Block, president of Block Imaging, said in a statement.
Imaging manufacturer Siemens Healthineers is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and has nearly 70,000 team members across the globe. It recorded over $23.3 billion (USD) in revenues for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022, with adjusted earnings of nearly $3.98 billion.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.