The Butler Health System Board of Trustees is expected to take action on a final merger agreement with Excela Health before the end of October, according to an official from the health system.

Eric Huss, chief financial officer at BHS, said Wednesday that, should the health system’s board and the board of trustees for Excela Health agree to proceed with the merger, filings for regulatory review will be made at the state and federal levels.

“The due diligence period and appropriate reviews continue on time and as scheduled,” Huss said. “The due diligence process that BHS and Excela (are) working through shows significant opportunity for improvement of both systems over the next five years.”

Butler Health System officials announced in June that the boards of trustees of both organizations had entered into a “letter of intent” to merge the two entities.

Last week, Fitch Ratings, a financial services company based in New York, issued a rating watch for BHS related to $79 million in revenue bonds. The rating came after the health system reported to Fitch an operating loss of $11.2 million for the 2021 fiscal year. Through the nine months ending March 31, 2022, the system's operating loss was $8.2 million.

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