MILWAUKEE—Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health today announced their plans to merge, creating a combined footprint across Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
The new organization will serve 5.5 million patients, operate more than 1,000 sites of care and 67 hospitals, employ more than 7,600 physicians and nearly 150,000 teammates and have combined revenues of more than $27 billion.
“Together, we can do more, be better and go faster,” said Jim Skogsbergh, president and chief executive officer of Advocate Aurora Health. “This combination harnesses our complementary strengths and expertise of our doctors, nurses and teammates to lead health care’s transformation for those we are so proud to serve.”
The two organizations cited their complementary strengths, diverse experiences and enhanced capabilities as a way to create a leading health and wellness delivery system.
“The world of healthcare as we know it is changing at warp speed—and it is rapidly becoming more digital, personalized, scientific and complex,” said Eugene A. Woods, president and chief executive officer of Atrium Health. “This strategic combination will enable us to deepen our commitments to health equity, create more jobs and opportunities for our teammates and communities, launch new game-changing innovations and so much more.”
The new organization hopes to use its combined experience to impact six key areas: clinical pre-eminence and safety, health equity, affordability, next-generation workforce, learning and discovery, and environmental sustainability. Highlights include a $2 billion pledge to disrupt the root causes of health inequities across both rural and urban underserved communities, their commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and a pledge to create more than 20,000 new jobs across the communities they serve.
The Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health Boards of Directors unanimously approved the agreement, which is subject to regulatory review.
“We’ve long admired Atrium Health’s nationally recognized clinical excellence and commitment to health equity,” said Michele Richardson, chair of Advocate Aurora Health’s board of directors. “Given our combined reach, coupled with our talented physicians, nurses and staff, we are uniquely positioned to lead health care’s transformation and create a platform for innovation.”
A board of directors comprising an equal number of members from Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health will govern the enterprise. Edward J. Brown III, chair of Atrium Health’s board of directors, will remain as chair until December 31, 2023, and Richardson will assume leadership for the immediately succeeding two-year term. Skogsbergh and Woods will serve as co-CEOs for the first 18 months, at which point Skogsbergh will retire and Woods will become the sole CEO.
The combined organization will transition to a new brand: Advocate Health, with the Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health brands continuing to be used in their respective local markets. Wake Forest University School of Medicine will be the academic core of the combined entity. The new organization will be headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., while continuing to maintain a strong organizational presence in Chicago and Milwaukee, including a new institute for health equity located in Milwaukee.
