Rush and Endeavor plan merger to form Illinois hospital giant

Two major Chicago hospital systems are joining forces to create a massive regional healthcare powerhouse. Rush and Endeavor announced a plan to merge into a single system with more than 46,000 employees and clinicians serving more than 2 million patients each year across Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana. Endeavor is providing a sizable cash infusion and taking the reins of the C-suite, with current Chief Executive Officer J.P. Gallagher tapped to lead the combined organization. However, the system will operate under the Rush name due to its strong national reputation as a leading academic institution. The combined board will include 20 people comprised equally of representatives from both systems. Chicago-based Rush operates three hospitals, including its flagship medical center in Chicago, Rush Oak Park Hospital, and Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora. Endeavor is the third-largest system in Illinois, with nine hospitals in the northeast, formed in 2022 from the merger of North Shore University Health System and Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare. Neither system is struggling financially. Endeavor brought in more than $663 million in net income during its most recent fiscal year, while Rush brought in $294 million in net income in the 12 months ended June 30, up 57% year over year. Instead, the merger is a bid for scale in a competitive metropolitan area where providers jockey for patient volume and market share against rivals like Northwestern Medicine and University of Chicago Medicine. Joining with Endeavor gives Rush a stronger hand to leapfrog the local competition, pending state regulatory review.