DETROIT – It was a mega merger that would have combined two of Metro Detroit's largest hospitals.
Beaumont and the Henry Ford health systems together would have been a multi-billion dollar operation. However, months after announcing plans of a joint venture that would have merged 10 hospitals and 200 other facilities, the plan has been scrapped.
Read back: Henry Ford, Beaumont announce plan to form new $6.4 billion organization
The CEO of Henry Ford Health System released a message later Tuesday afternoon that reads in part:
"After much deliberation, the Henry Ford Health System Board of Trustees has voted to allow the letter of intent with Beaumont Health System to expire at the end of this week and not to continue further discussions."
When it came down to it, both sides could not see eye-to-eye. Reaction to the merger fallout is mixed.
"I am sort of surprised, I thought it would have been good for the community," said one man.
"I'm glad that they didn't merge together," said Susan Herrera, of Royal Oak. "I'm glad that Beaumont is separate from Henry Ford."
Months of study and deliberation went into this before the initial announcement about a merger was made. However, after all of that, both sides will go their separate ways and continue working independently.