Ochsner Health and Rush Health Systems have wrapped up a planned merger that sees the smaller southern organization rebranded as Ochsner Rush Health, according to a Monday morning release.
First announced in June 2021, the deal adds seven hospitals and more than 30 clinics in eastern Mississippi and western Alabama to Ochsner, already the largest health system in the Gulf South region.
The nonprofit organizations said in 2021 and in Monday’s announcement that the deal comes with patient access expansions for those living in Rush’s communities as well as a $1.5 million commitment to increase the system’s minimum wage to $12 per hour.
“As Ochsner Rush Health, our patients will benefit from the skills and experience of both teams with enhanced access to new services and highly specialized care,” Larkin Kennedy, CEO of Ochsner Rush Health, said in a statement. “By coming together, we’ll be able to do more to enhance and expand clinical services focused on the critical needs of the communities we serve while ensuring our patients have access to local, high-quality care for generations to come.”
Rush Health Systems (not to be confused with Rush University System for Health in Chicago) includes 250 staff and contracted physicians and 95 advanced practice providers. These clinicians are retaining their privileges through the merger, the organizations pledged in 2021, while more than 400 total employees will benefit from the minimum wage increase.
Monday’s announcement reiterated the organizations’ intent to expand access to specialty and subspecialty services and to make Rush patients eligible to enroll in clinical trials for novel therapies conducted through Ochsner’s clinical research network. These patients may continue to use their existing insurance coverage at all of the newly acquired facilities.
Rush will also receive access to Ochsner’s tech and digital investments, including telehealth expansions and remote monitoring, and “economies of scale” will allow Ochsner to deliver more efficient care, the organizations wrote.
“Technology and integration are critically important in today’s healthcare environment,” Ochsner Health President and CEO Warner Thomas said in a statement. “Maintaining a shared focus on opportunities will strengthen our organization and ensure Ochsner Rush Health’s ability to provide care for future generations.”
Pre-merger Ochsner Health operates 40 hospitals and more than 300 care centers. It employs more than 34,000 people with over 4,500 employed and affiliated physicians. The health system reported $5 billion in total revenues and an operating income of $138.6 million for fiscal year 2021.