Froedtert Health and ThedaCare have announced their merger to create a $5 billion healthcare system with 18 hospitals in Wisconsin. The non-profit health systems have already established partnerships that include the Medical College of Wisconsin, and a joint venture to create two new health campuses. By combining resources, the organizations hope to address health equity and disparities, enhance access to services, and make it easier for patients to navigate the healthcare system. Instead of an immediate need, the merger is driven by a shared desire to improve Wisconsin’s healthcare outcomes.
Froedtert Health and ThedaCare have announced their intention to merge, in a move that will create a new $5 billion healthcare system with 18 hospitals throughout the state of Wisconsin. The two non-profit health systems say the combination will improve healthcare access and reduce health disparities in the communities they serve.
Froedtert Health, based in Milwaukee, is an integrated network of ten hospitals and 45 other locations, including a partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin. Its annual revenue as of June 2022 was over $3.4 billion, and it holds an AA rating from Fitch Ratings. ThedaCare, meanwhile, serves patients in northeast and central Wisconsin through eight hospitals and more than 170 other care locations. The health system employs around 7,000 providers and staff members and delivered care to over 650,000 patients, generating approximately $1.2 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021.
The two organizations have already established a strong partnership, including a quaternary partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin and a joint venture to create two new health campuses that will offer hospital and outpatient care services in Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. By combining their resources, the health systems say they will be better positioned to address health disparities, enhance access to services, and make it easier for patients to navigate the healthcare system.
Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert, has been selected to lead the new, as-yet-unnamed healthcare system. Imran A. Andrabi, president and CEO of ThedaCare, will serve as president until Jacobson retires six months following the launch of the combined health system.
The executives of Froedtert and ThedaCare said in a joint statement that the merger was motivated by a common goal of enhancing healthcare outcomes in the state of Wisconsin rather than a necessity. They are now working to refine the details of a definitive agreement and aim to launch the combined health system by the end of this year.
