Rush University and Endeavor Health, two large Chicago-area health systems, announced plans Wednesday to merge in a deal that would involve 12 hospitals, 46,000 employees and 400 clinics and create one of the largest health systems in Illinois.
The plans were announced in a joint press release Wednesday, with the organizations saying they intend to “come together to form a leading, integrated academic health system.”
Endeavor Chairman and CEO Gerald “JP” Gallagher said the merger would create a better, more connected health system, with patients benefiting from “improved access, advanced research and nationally recognized, high-quality care close to home.”
The combined system will operate under the Rush name, giving the academic health system a greater presence in the Chicago region and suburbs. Overall, the merger aims to create increased access across a wider geographic area.
“The system will embody and expand the core values for which both systems are known: health excellence, access and equity, supported by a leading university that leads research and educates our future health care leaders,” Dr. Omar Lateef, president and CEO of Rush University System for Health and Rush University Medical Center, said in the announcement. “As a unified system, we will expand on the work Rush has done on Chicago’s West Side to strengthen our impact in communities across the region to ensure more patients benefit from the expertise, innovation and compassion that define us.” »
As part of the deal, Endeavor will invest $1 billion in the new system, according to the announcement. A “significant portion” of the funding will support community partnerships, academic and research initiatives, care innovation and efforts to address health disparities.
The merger is expected to be completed in early 2027, following regulatory review and approval. Upon closing, Gallagher will become president and CEO of the new system. It will be governed by a 20-person board of directors made up equally of Rush and Endeavor.
Rush, a nonprofit academic health system, has three hospitals in the Chicago area: Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora. The system’s Chicago hospital is frequently ranked among the nation’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.
Endeavor Health, the third largest health system in Illinois, operates nine hospitals, including eight Magnet acute care hospitals, in Naperville, Elmhurst, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Arlington Heights, Skokie and Chicago. The system formed in 2022 after the merger of North Shore University Health System and Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare.
It’s not yet clear what impact, if any, the merger would have on patients, but a spokesperson for the hospitals said the move would not result in any closures.
“They would create one of the largest health systems in Illinois,” said Dr. Lawton Robert Burns, a professor at the Wharton School. “I think that’s the goal. It’s just about getting big and overtaking local competition. There’s no logic or justification for why they’re doing this except to get bigger.”
The Illinois Department of Public Health said it was aware of reports of a merger but had not yet received a request for a “change of ownership exemption certificate.”
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