St. Louis–based Mercy, formerly the Sisters of Mercy Health System and the nation’s sixth largest Catholic health care concern, has announced a partnership of sorts with Franklin–based Healthways Inc.

The arrangement is designed to provide Healthways’ population health management services to Mercy’s five state network of 31 hospitals and the myriad of facilities associated.

“When it comes to managing the health of populations, we believe that working from the heart of the community through a fully optimized electronic health record gives us the best opportunity to bring about change,” Lynn Britton, Mercy president and CEO, said in a combined company statement. “We look forward to working with Healthways and assessing the opportunities before us.”

Earlier this month, Healthways and Johns Hopkins Medicine, a division of the renowned Johns Hopkins HealthCare System, announced an extension to their decade-long agreement to develop the "clinical, research and educational capabilities" between the parties.