Health system that operates Atrium Health Navicent in Macon announces giant merger

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Atrium Health Navicent in Macon. Atrium Health, which operates Atrium Health Navicent, announced Wednesday a merger with the Midwest’s Advocate Aurora Health.

Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Telegraph

North Carolina-based Atrium Health, which owns and operates Atrium Health Navicent in Macon, announced Wednesday its merger with the Midwest’s Advocate Aurora Health.

With a combined annual revenues of more than $27 billion, the combined health care system will become the fifth largest in the nation, The Charlotte Observer reported.

“The world of health care as we know it is changing at warp speed — and it is rapidly becoming more digital, personalized, scientific and complex,” Atrium Health president and CEO Eugene A. Woods said in a news release. “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.”

The new system, Advocate Health, will be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the Advocate Health and Atrium Health brands continuing to be used in their local markets.

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Jim Skogsbergh, president and chief executive officer of Advocate Aurora Health, left, and Eugene A. Woods, Atrium Health president and CEO.

Credit: JOHN MARTIN-EATINGER/Courtesy Atrium Health

“Together, we can do more, be better and go faster,” said Jim Skogsbergh, president and CEO of Advocate Aurora Health. “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.”

Advocate Health is expected to serve more than 5.5 million patients and employ more than 7,600 physicians and nearly 150,000 other employees.

The new system will operate 67 hospitals and more than 1,000 other healthcare sites across Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

The organizations’ leadership cited their complementary strengths, diverse experiences and enhanced capabilities as key enablers to improve lives.

They also pledged $2 billion to tackle health inequities, achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and create more than 20,000 new jobs across the communities served by the combined system.

The Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health boards of directors unanimously approved the agreement, which is subject to regulatory review.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Telegraph.