North Carolina’s Atrium Health Merging With Advocate Aurora Health
Big news for healthcare in North Carolina! Atrium Health announced Wednesday that they are combining with Advocate Aurora Health. The organizations cited their complementary strengths, diverse experiences, and enhanced capabilities as key enablers to improving lives.
“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. Together, we will manifest a new future that significantly elevates the care we provide to every hand we hold and every life we touch.”
“Together, we can do more, be better and go faster,” said Jim Skogsbergh, president and chief executive officer of Advocate Aurora Health, in a prepared statement. “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 Details
Leaders cited the organizations’ combined clinical excellence – including in medical research and population health – as well as advanced capabilities in data analytics and digital consumer infrastructure as key-value accelerators for the merger. This will allow the combined company to make a positive impact across six key areas: clinical pre-eminence and safety, health equity, affordability, next-generation workforce, learning and discovery, and environmental sustainability.
The deal includes a $2 billion pledge to disrupt the root causes of health inequities. This is for both rural and urban underserved communities. They also site the goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. And finally a pledge to create more than 20,000 new jobs across the communities they serve.
The new organization will span Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The organization will care for more than 5.5 million patients at more than 1,000 care locations and 67 hospitals. It will employ more than 7,600 physicians and nearly 150,000 support staff. The merger was unanimously approved by boards for both Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. It is still subject to a regulatory review. The enterprise will be governed by a board of directors. An equal number of members from Advocate Aurora and Atrium Health will make up the board.
The combined organization will transition to a new brand under the umbrella “Advocate Health”. The Advocate Health and Atrium Health brands will continue to be used in their respective local markets. Wake Forest University School of Medicine, which has a campus coming to Charlotte, will be the academic core.
Advocate Health will be headquartered in Charlotte. However, they will maintain a strong organizational presence in Chicago and Milwaukee.
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