Beaumont Health and Advocate Aurora Health announced Wednesday that the two health systems are “exploring a potential partnership.”
The organizations say they signed a non-binding letter of intent that “paves the way to deeper discussions to create a leading health care system” that would span across Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.
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“We are excited to explore this option with an organization as highly regarded as Advocate Aurora Health known for their track record in health outcomes, population health and consumer experience,” said John Fox, president and chief executive officer, Beaumont Health, in a news release. “The potential opportunity to leverage the strength and scale of a regional organization while maintaining a local focus and strong presence in Michigan as a leader and major employer is important to us.”
Advocate Aurora and Beaumont say they began discussions at the end of 2019 but paused partnership talks to allow them to focus on COVID-19.
Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care organizations merged in 2018 to create Advocate Aurora Health.
The health systems say they will work closely with state and regulatory agencies throughout the process, which began with notifications to all three Attorneys General earlier this week.
Beaumont Health is Michigan’s largest health care system that reports an annual net patient revenue of $4.7 billion and consists of eight hospitals with 3,429 beds, 145 outpatient sites, nearly 5,000 affiliated physicians and 38,000 employees, including 11,000 nurses.
Advocate Aurora Health is one of the 10 largest not-for-profit, integrated health systems in the United States and a leading employer in the Midwest with more than 70,000 employees. The system says it serves nearly 3 million patients annually in Illinois and Wisconsin across more than 500 sites of care.