Updated Jan. 10 at 4:00 p.m.
University of Chicago Medicine and AdventHealth have wrapped up a deal that sees the former acquire a controlling interest in four Chicago-area hospitals as well as nearly 50 other physicians' offices and other outpatient locations.
The facilities were previously part of AdventHealth's Amita Health joint venture with Ascension.
The new agreement, which was announced in September and became official Jan. 1, creates another joint venture in which AdventHealth will continue to manage daily operations. Other financial terms were not disclosed.
"With the launch of this affiliation, we are blessed to continue to build on the rich legacy of whole-person care and further our mission and commitment to making these communities healthier for years to come,” Terry Shaw, president and CEO of AdventHealth, said in a statement.
The joint venture's four hospitals are AdventHealth Bolingbrook, AdventHealth GlenOaks, AdventHealth Hinsdale and AdventHealth La Grange, all of which are in the suburbs west of Chicago.
While UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth said they are maintaining their separate system-level governance and administrative structures, the systems said medical teams will be working over the coming months "to expand programs and services, recruit more physicians and deliver even better care." Sandra Valaitis, M.D., has also been appointed as UChicago Medicine's chief physician for the affiliation, according to the announcement.
Sept. 15, 2022
University of Chicago Medicine plans to acquire a controlling interest in four AdventHealth hospitals and other locations that until recently were part of the Amita Health joint venture.
The organizations said in a Tuesday announcement and filing that AdventHealth would continue to manage daily operations at the affected facilities, all of which are located in the western suburbs of Chicago. The proposed deal will not affect either organization’s system-level governance or administrative structures, they said.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Pending regulatory approvals, the organizations said they are aiming to close either in late 2022 or early 2023.
If approved, the systems said their deal would allow patients to “seamlessly access primary, specialty and subspecialty medical care across both organizations.”
“Partnering with a premier, locally based academic medical institution will allow us to combine the best of community-based care with academic capabilities to expand subspecialty care and develop more high-quality, multidisciplinary services,” Thor Thordarson, president and CEO of AdventHealth Great Lakes Region, said in a statement. “This affiliation will produce an expansive and diverse physician network, with over 3,500 providers, to deliver better-integrated, better-coordinated and more-comprehensive care for patients.”
The deal includes the AdventHealth Bolingbrook, AdventHealth GlenOaks, AdventHealth Hinsdale and AdventHealth hospitals, all of which were part of the system’s Amita Health joint venture with Ascension Health until April.
The two religious nonprofits had formed the 19-hospital Amita in 2015 to serve the greater Chicago area but said in October that the breakup was “in their collective best interest in order to more nimbly meet the changing needs and expectations of consumers in the rapidly evolving healthcare environment.”
Also included in the proposed deal are nearly 50 primary and specialty practice locations as well as two multispecialty ambulatory centers.
AdventHealth is a Florida-based system affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It operates 51 hospital campuses across nine states.
UChicago Medicine is an integrated academic system headlined by the University of Chicago Medical Center. The system's over 40 hospitals, outpatient clinics and physician practices deliver care across Chicago, its suburbs and northwest Indiana.
UChicago Medicine has had an eye for growth. In February, it announced plans to build a $633 million free-standing cancer facility and more recently broke ground on a 130,000-square-foot multispecialty ambulatory center in Indiana.
UChicago leaders said in the announcement that the partnership will bring the academic system’s specialized care and other clinical innovations to Great Lakes region patients.
“We have been focused on strengthening the ability of UChicago Medicine to deliver outstanding healthcare to the communities that we serve and expanding our points of access through new partnerships and locations across the region,” Kenneth Polonsky, M.D., dean and executive vice president of medical affairs at the university, said in a statement. “Following regulatory approval for this affiliation we look forward to working with AdventHealth Great Lakes’ leadership, physicians and staff.”