Two of Chicagoland’s major healthcare players announced plans Wednesday to merge into a 12-hospital nonprofit with nearly $11 billion in annual revenue.
The deal, pending approvals, marries Rush University System for Health, a three-hospital academic system with three affiliated healthcare colleges, with Endeavor Health, a nine-hospital system formed through the 2022 merger of NorthShore University HealthSystem and Edward-Elmhurst Health.
Together, the systems would command over 400 care sites, employ more than 46,000 people including over 3,400 clinicians, and reach over 2 million Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana patients per year.
“Together, Rush and Endeavor Health have an opportunity to create a stronger, more connected health system that sets a new standard for how care is delivered and experienced across our communities,” said Gerald “J.P.” Gallagher, president and CEO of Endeavor Health, who would also hold those roles at the to-be-formed entity. “Patients and communities will benefit from improved access, advanced research and nationally recognized, high-quality care close to home.”
The systems said they would be targeting an early 2027 close in their announcement, though a concurrent regulatory filing lists plans for completion during the fourth quarter of this year.
The arrangement outlines a $1 billion commitment from Endeavor Health to support community impact ($300 million), academics and research ($500 million) and care quality and innovation ($200 million) in the region, according to the announcement and a fact sheet. The systems did not share a timeline for that “incremental” investment, but noted that “a significant portion of the investment will be dedicated to community partnerships addressing social determinants of health and creating a sustainable infrastructure to support the underserved.”
The combined system is planned to operate under Rush’s name, “reflecting the brand’s strong national reputation and position as a leading academic institution,” according to the announcement.
While the smaller Rush is bringing its brand, reputation for care quality and university integrations to the table, announcement materials also highlighted Endeavor’s broader community-based care network, clinical institutes, and primary care-embedded clinical genomics programs. Both organizations have ongoing multimillion-dollar community investment commitments.
“The system will embody and expand the foundational values for which both systems are known: excellence, access and health equity, backed by a leading university that drives research and trains our future healthcare leaders,” said Omar Lateef, D.O., president and CEO of Rush University System for Health and Rush University Medical Center, who will step into CEO emeritus and strategic advisor to the CEO roles should the deal close. “As a unified system, we will expand upon the work Rush has done on the West Side of Chicago to strengthen our impact in communities across the region to ensure more patients benefit from the expertise, innovation and compassion that define us.”
The deal is subject to regulatory review and approval. The organizations said they plan for their new entity to appoint a 20-member board, led by a chair from Rush but with equal membership representation from both sides.
Chicago-based Rush University System for Health counted $4.4 billion total operating revenue in unaudited financial results for the 12-month period ended June 30, 2026. That included $56.6 million operating income (1.3% operating margin) and $293.9 million excess of revenues over expenses, both of which were up from the year prior.
Evanston, Illinois-based Endeavor Health logged $6.4 billion in total operating revenues over the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2025. The system reported a $33.9 million operating loss (-0.5% operating margin) in 2025. When excluding legal settlement costs tied to claims against a former physician, the operational core was profitable, yielding $28.5 million in operating income (0.4% operating margin). Ultimately, driven by non-operating items like investment gains, the system's final net bottom line reached $663.3 million.
The combination, if closed, would become the largest health system in Illinois by hospital count, narrowly outpacing competitors like Northwestern Medicine, Advocate Health Care and Prime Healthcare.