The AdventHealth Great Lakes Region’s facilities will be co-branded as UChicago Medicine AdventHealth to build upon the complementary strengths of the two organizations, with UChicago Medicine’s national reputation as an academic health system and AdventHealth’s focus on delivering outstanding medical care in community settings.
The University of Chicago Medicine and AdventHealth have closed on a transaction to form a joint venture called UChicago Medicine AdventHealth [healthychicagoland.org], which will combine the expertise and resources of both organizations to bring academic medicine to the western suburbs.
The two organizations announced a definitive agreement to affiliate in September 2022, with plans for UChicago Medicine to acquire a controlling interest in AdventHealth’s Great Lakes Region, which includes its four Illinois hospitals in Bolingbrook, Glendale Heights, Hinsdale and La Grange along with a network of nearly 50 physicians’ offices and outpatient locations.
The AdventHealth Great Lakes Region’s facilities will be co-branded as UChicago Medicine AdventHealth to build upon the complementary strengths of the two organizations, with UChicago Medicine’s national reputation as an academic health system and AdventHealth’s focus on delivering outstanding medical care in community settings.
“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,” said Terry Shaw, president/CEO of AdventHealth.
Under the new joint venture, which became official January 1, 2023, UChicago Medicine gains
a controlling interest in AdventHealth’s Great Lakes Region. AdventHealth retains the remaining ownership and will continue to manage daily operations of all facilities. Both UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth will maintain their separate system-level governance and administrative structures.
Physicians of UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth Great Lakes will partner and coordinate care across both organizations to deliver high-quality, value-based care. This collaboration also will lead to an excellent patient experience and improved outcomes for patients.
“The biggest benefit of this partnership is to patients,” said Tom Jackiewicz, president of the University of Chicago Medical Center, the hub of the UChicago Medicine health system. “AdventHealth Great Lakes’ patients now will have seamless access to UChicago Medicine’s specialty and subspecialty care and the latest clinical trials without the commute.”
“In the same vein, UChicago Medicine patients who live in the western suburbs will now have access to AdventHealth’s exceptional quality, community-based care,” said Thor Thordarson, president and CEO of AdventHealth’s Great Lakes Region. “Working together, we can accomplish more for our patients and communities, and our shared resources and expertise will mean a healthier future for the greater Chicagoland area.”
Medical teams from both organizations will be working in the coming months to expand programs and services, recruit more physicians and deliver even better care. To lead that effort, Sandra Valaitis, MD, has been appointed UChicago Medicine’s Chief Physician for the affiliation. Valaitis currently serves as UChicago Medicine’s Section Chief of Gynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery and Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs.
In her new position, she will be responsible for physician collaboration, clinical integration and program development for the new joint venture. She will be working closely with Bela Nand, MD, Chief Medical Officer at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale and La Grange, who will lead the clinical integration efforts for the AdventHealth Great Lakes Region facilities.
“I am excited to work together with my colleagues at UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth to ensure we’re building bridges between organizations that will enable us to better connect care for patients — whether they’re seeing their long-time family doctor in the western suburbs or a sub- specialist in Hyde Park,” said Valaitis.
The affiliation is the latest move for UChicago Medicine, an integrated academic health system that includes hospitals, outpatient clinics and physician practices throughout Chicagoland as well as in the suburbs and Northwest Indiana. UChicago Medicine has been working for many years on developing and strengthening a healthcare ecosystem for communities on the South Side and beyond. That includes plans to build Chicago’s freestanding comprehensive cancer facility on its medical campus on the South Side, where cancer is the second-leading cause of death. It’s also building a 130,000-square-foot multispecialty ambulatory center in Crown Point to serve the growing population in Northwest Indiana. It is also collaborating with 12 community providers on the South Side Healthy Community Organization collaborative, which is working to improve access to quality care for more than 400,000 people who live on Chicago’s South Side.
AdventHealth is a faith-based health system headquartered in Florida with more than 50 hospital campuses in nine states and more than 80,000 team members, 2,400 employed physicians
and almost 18,000 medical staff providers across the organization. AdventHealth’s Great Lakes Region includes UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook, UChicago Medicine AdventHealth GlenOaks, UChicago Medicine AdventHealth La Grange and UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Hinsdale, which has been serving the community for more than 100 years, as well as nearly 50 primary and specialty practice locations and two multispecialty ambulatory centers. The Carol Stream and Woodridge ambulatory centers offer primary and specialty care providers, diagnostic imaging and lab services.
Q: I heard that the AdventHealth hospitals in Chicago are being sold. Is this true?
A: AdventHealth, the largest Adventist health system in the world, is partnering with world- renown UChicago Medicine (UCM) to better serve the Chicago community. As part of this new affiliation, AdventHealth will continue to manage daily operations in four Illinois hospitals: AdventHealth Bolingbrook, AdventHealth GlenOaks, AdventHealth La Grange and AdventHealth Hinsdale. Meanwhile, pending regulatory approvals, UChicago Medicine would purchase the majority interest in these hospitals. These hospitals, however, will continue to provide the excellent health care that Chicago communities expect, but with enhanced services.
Q: How will the affiliation between AdventHealth and UChicago Medicine benefit me, my fellow Adventist church members, and my larger community?
A: AdventHealth and UChicago Medicine (UCM) already provide world-class health care. By working together, these health systems will be able to further increase community access to health services, treatment options and cutting-edge clinical trials to residents living in the greater Chicago area. This affiliation will also enable consumers to seamlessly access primary, specialty and subspecialty medical care across both organizations which will be major advantages for Chicago consumers. In addition, by partnering with UCM, a locally based academic medical institution, AdventHealth will be able to combine the best of community-based care with academic capabilities to expand subspecialty care and develop more high-quality, multidisciplinary services.
AdventHealth is working to improve health equity in the communities where it has a presence and beyond. This means having a detailed understanding of the needs of local communities beyond just health care and putting in place programs that reduce vulnerability and contribute to better and healthier lives.
Q: As an Adventist I’m concerned that under this new affiliation these hospitals will no longer provide Christ-centered care.
A: As part of this partnership, AdventHealth will manage the day-to-day operations for these four hospitals. This means consumers will continue to receive care that is anchored in Adventist principles of whole-person care. Our team members will be able to pray with patients, our food services will continue to offer healthy choices, and Adventist chaplains will be at each facility encouraging and ministering to patients and their families. AdventHealth remains committed to ensuring that each hospital remains a place where patients can receive the love, care and attention that made Christ’s ministry so transformative.
Q: As an Adventist health system, why is AdventHealth partnering with non-Adventist health care systems like UChicago Medicine?
A: Adventists have a long history of collaborating with people and organizations of other faiths, especially when it comes to meeting community needs around the world and providing opportunities for people to live better and healthier lives. Health care is no different. AdventHealth always looks for ways to make whole-person care more accessible to more people. Sometimes that is better achieved by establishing mutually beneficial partnerships that accelerate access to health care and does so in a way that aligns with Adventist values, as well as financial and stewardship principles. As Adventists we also believe that God can bless and prosper such partnerships as we seek to extend the healing ministry of Christ to more communities.
Q: Why partner with UChicago Medicine now?
A: UCM aligns ideally with AdventHealth’s guiding principles for partnership, enabling us to form a mutually beneficial partnership focused on the delivery of high-quality, value-based care and an excellent patient experience, while allowing governance based on respect for each organization’s mission, vision, values, experiences and cultures. By forming a partnership with UCM, we can:
Expand and strengthen our clinical programs, blending academic capabilities with the best of community-based care to develop subspecialty research and high-quality, multidisciplinary services.
Increase access to UCM’s world-class subspecialty care and research across the communities we serve.
Build a comprehensive ambulatory footprint addressing the full continuum of care.
Provide greater value for our patients by offering a full-service network of care.
Create a larger physician network with population health management capabilities that
will offer compelling
advantages for employers and payers.
Gain access to UCM’s academic research team, fueling our efforts to create a dynamic learning culture.
There are other reasons for forming this partnership. These include:
Our affiliation will bring together two similar cultures, and we expect tremendous clinical synergies between our two organizations, leading to improved outcomes for our patients.
Q: How is this new affiliation similar to or different from the recent AMITA Health partnership in Chicago?
A: AMITA was a joint operating company, under which AdventHealth and Ascension continued to own their respective assets. Under this affiliation, UCM will become the majority owner of AdventHealth Great Lakes Region. The key difference between this affiliation and our former AMITA agreement will be that AdventHealth will continue to manage the daily operations of our hospitals and other facilities. Our team members will continue to be employed and paid by AdventHealth and will continue to receive AdventHealth benefits.
Q: Does the Adventist Church own the hospitals in the Chicago area?
A: AdventHealth is an independent, not-for-profit, faith-based health system that is affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As such, the Adventist Church is involved in the governance of AdventHealth through the Board of Directors, often providing input and advice. Leaders of the Adventist church in the Great Lakes region are members of the Board. However, the local Union and Conferences do not own a stake in the company or the hospitals.
Q: Have leaders of the Lake Union and local Conferences been involved in making this decision? Do they know about this?
A: AdventHealth liaises closely with its Board of Directors on all major matters. The Board includes church leaders from Unions and Conferences where AdventHealth has a presence. In the case of the partnership with UChicago Medicine, the following leaders/Board members have been briefed:
Q: Will the UChicago Medicine | AdventHealth hospitals accept the health insurance I have through my job in the Adventist Church?
A: Please check with your insurance provider and/or Human Resources office for all insurance- related questions as plan options can change.
Q: How can my church community collaborate with UCM | AdventHealth hospitals to address community needs?
A: AdventHealth is committed to working with faith communities, including Adventist churches, to understand, prioritize and address community needs. In fact, each medical facility is tasked with developing community engagement plans that outline how they will collaborate locally to drive change and improve the overall wellbeing of local communities. This effort is part of a larger strategy to improve health equity in the areas where AdventHealth has a presence. Depending on the community, this means improving access to food, connecting community members to employment opportunities, providing transportation for health check-ups and bringing mobile health units to certain communities for better health access among other priorities.
Q: Can you tell me more about UChicago Medicine?
A: The University of Chicago Medicine is an academic medical institution comprising the University of Chicago Medical Center (with a Level 1 adult and pediatric trauma center), Community Health & Hospital Division (which includes Ingalls Memorial Hospital), University of Chicago Physicians Group, Pritzker School of Medicine and University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division. The medical campus is located at the University of Chicago in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. The health system has 1,296 licensed beds, about 1,400 attending physicians, over 3,000 nurses and over 980 residents and fellows and offers a full range of specialty care services for adults and children through more than 40 institutes and centers including an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Twelve Nobel Prize winners in physiology or medicine have been affiliated with UChicago Medicine.
Q: Can you tell me more about AdventHealth?
A: With a sacred mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, AdventHealth is a connected system of care for every stage of life and health. More than 80,000 skilled and compassionate caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and hospice centers provide individualized, wholistic care. A shared vision, common values, focus on whole-person health and commitment to making communities healthier unify the system's more than 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites in diverse markets throughout almost a dozen states. For the latest news from AdventHealth, visit AdventHealth.com/news.
AdventHealth and UChicago Medicine
