• Arizona: Arizona State University (ASU) recently launched a new medical school and has started recruiting its first class of students who will enroll in fall 2026. In October, ASU announced it received preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to operate the new John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering. The school is named after John Shufeldt, an emergency medicine physician and ASU alumnus who recently gifted the school a "nine-figure" donation to support the medical school. The school's four-year curriculum will combine clinical training with engineering, technology, and humanities. Students will be able to earn two degrees, an MD and a Master of Science in data engineering. "Our students are going to be fully immersed in both cultures from the very beginning, the medical culture as well as engineering," said Holly Lisanby, founding dean of the medical school. "They'll be dually trained. They'll learn how to read both literature and how to work with faculty and mentors who are not just coming from clinical fields and engineering, but also entrepreneurship and the venture capital sector so that they will be physician-engineer-entrepreneurs who will really transform the future of health care." (Cerutti, Becker's Hospital Review, 10/27)
• Massachusetts/Pennsylvania: Thermo Fisher Scientific has agreed to acquire Clario Holdings, an endpoint data solutions provider, from a shareholder group for $8.88 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal, the shareholder group is led by Astorg, Nordic Capital, Novo Holding, and Cinven. Thermo Fisher also agreed to pay an additional $125 million in January 2027, and up to $400 million in earn-out payments based on business performance in 2026 and 2027. Through the acquisition, Thermo Fisher will be able to expand its digital and data capabilities and strengthen its use of AI in clinical research and data analysis. Thermo Fisher also said it expects the combination to provide a double-digit internal rate of return and that it should be immediately accretive to adjusted operating margin. Thermo Fisher expects to add 45 cents of adjusted earnings per share by the first year after the deal closes, which will increase to $175 million in adjusted operating income from synergies by year five. The deal is expected to close by mid-2026. (Marchese, Wall Street Journal, 10/29)
• Rhode Island: CVS Health will close 16 Oak Street Health locations by the end of February, citing financial challenges such as higher medical costs. CVS initially acquired Oak Street in 2023 for $10.6 billion and last year said it planned to expand the company. According to CVS, it will continue to operate 230 Oak Street centers in 27 states after the closures. "The move positions Oak Street Health for sustainable, long-term growth as we continue to navigate external challenges, such as elevated medical costs, [CMS] risk adjustment model changes, and health plan payer dynamics," CVS said. Employees at the affected centers have been notified, and CVS will consider them for other roles within the company. Patients at the affected centers are being redirected to nearby Oak Street centers or other providers in their communities. (DeSilva, Modern Healthcare, 10/27)

Amid rising costs and shrinking margins, explore six data-driven strategies health systems can leverage to enhance financial resilience in uncertain times.