Legality of Cannabis by U.S. Jurisdiction

Advocate Aurora Health
FormerlyAurora Healthcare
Company typeNot-for-profit corporation
IndustryHealth care
Founded1984; 40 years ago (1984)
HeadquartersMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Downers Grove, Illinois
Area served
Eastern Wisconsin and Illinois
Key people
Jim Skogsbergh, President & CEO
Revenue$12 billion
Number of employees
75,000
Websitewww.aah.org

Advocate Aurora Health (AAH) is a non-profit health care system with dual headquarters located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Downers Grove, Illinois. As of 2021, the AAH system has 26 hospitals and more than 500 sites of care, with 75,000 employees, including 10,000 employed physicians.[1] The health system formed as a result of a merger between Illinois-based Advocate Health Care and Wisconsin-based Aurora Health Care. AAH is a teaching affiliate of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.[2]

History[edit]

1980–1990s[edit]

Aurora Sheboygan Medical Center

In 1984, St. Luke's Medical Center and Good Samaritan Medical Center formed an affiliation called St. Luke's Samaritan Health Care.[3] In 1987, the organization was renamed to Aurora Health Care.[4] In 1988, after forming a partnership with Aurora, the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Milwaukee joined Aurora Health Care. Between 1992 and 1995, the health care system added five more hospitals: Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center (1992),[5] Milwaukee Psychiatric Hospital (1993), Hartford Memorial Hospital (1993), Two Rivers Community Hospital (1993), and West Allis Memorial Hospital (1995).

In 1995, two additional hospitals joined Aurora Health Care: Lakeland Medical Center in Elkhorn, owned by Walworth County, and Trinity Memorial Hospital in Cudahy, founded in 1958 and owned by Catholic Health Corp. Aurora acquired Lakeland Medical Center for about $16 million. In the deal, Aurora assumed the hospital's bond obligations and debt and agreed to contribute to a fund to cover the uninsured.[6] In February 1996, Memorial Hospital of Burlington joined Aurora Health Care.

Aurora Medical Center in Two Rivers.

In 1998, Aurora built its first hospital, on the west side of Kenosha, which opened in February 1999. That same year Aurora replaced Two Rivers Community Hospital with a new facility, which opened in June 2000.

2000s[edit]

In 2002, a five-story Aurora Women's Pavilion was opened at West Allis Memorial Hospital and Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center moved its Labor & Delivery services to that location. On October 27, 2003, the health care system opened a new 84-bed hospital in Oshkosh.[7][8] In 2004, a 270-bed twelve-story tower opened at St. Luke Medical Center, which was built atop the existing parking structure.[9]

In March 2004, Aurora Health Care announced a new QuickCare service, the first of its kind in the Milwaukee area. The kiosks, known as Aurora QuickCare, are staffed by providers who handle basic, common medical issues for a flat rate.[10] Aurora has opened 19 of these facilities including five in Walmart Supercenters.[11]

In 2006, after 22 years at the health care organization, G. Edwin Howe retired as president and chief executive officer.[12] Nick Turkal, a family practice physician and president of Aurora's metro Milwaukee region, was chosen as Howe's replacement. Turkal had been employed by Aurora Health Care since 1987.[13]

In March 2001, Aurora announced plans to build a new hospital in the Pabst Farms development in the city of Oconomowoc. The Oconomowoc Common Council rezoned the property in June 2001, preventing the development. Aurora sued Oconomowoc because it believed that the rezoning was done illegally.[14] In 2004, Aurora revealed plans to construct a hospital in the Pabst Farms development located in the Town of Summit a few hundred feet (around 100 meters) south of the proposed Oconomowoc site. In 2007, the Summit Town Board approved the new Aurora hospital, which was planned to have a capacity of 110 beds[15] and to have been completed in March 2010.[16]

On July 31, 2007, Advanced Healthcare, an independent practice in southeastern Wisconsin, and Aurora Health Care announced that they would join "under a broad affiliation agreement."[17][18] According to the agreement, the leadership of Advanced Healthcare would remain intact. In concert with the purchase announcement, Aurora and Advanced Healthcare constructed the new Aurora Medical Center Grafton in Grafton, Wisconsin, which opened in late 2010. Health care industry experts estimated the total cost of purchasing Advanced Healthcare and constructing the Grafton hospital at $250 million.[17]

2010s–2020s[edit]

On December 4, 2017, Aurora Health Care and Advocate Health Care Network of Illinois announced a merger agreement, which was completed in 2018.[19][20] In 2020, Advocate Aurora Health sold two Downstate Illinois hospitals to the Carle healthcare system.[21]

In October 2021, AAH fired over 400 full- and part-time employees for not getting vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.[22] Advocate agreed in May 2022 to merge with Atrium Health, assuming the Advocate brand, but based at Atrium Health's headquarters in Charlotte, NC.[23]

Atrium Health merger[edit]

The merger was first announced in May 2022. Atrium Health operates in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The combined company will operate in six states Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. It will have 67 hospitals and 150,000 employees with $27 billion in annual revenue. It will be the fifth largest hospital system in the country. The combined organization would be called Advocate Health and be headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Initially both Gene Woods, CEO of Atrium, and Jim Skogsbergh, CEO of Advocate Aurora, will be co-CEOs for a year and a half until Skogsbergh retires then Woods will be the sole CEO.[24]

The deal will not affect Atrium' Health's new medical school Wake Forest School of Medicine and the medical innovation district The Pearl. The medical school will be the academic core of the newly combined company. Currently Advocate does have partnerships with nearby medical schools and supports research. However, they do not have their own medical school or innovation district.[24] Dr Julie Ann Freischlag, CEO of AHWFB and dean of the WFU School of Medicine, stated completing clinical trials and finding new treatment approaches will be easier with a larger patient population.[25]

The deal faced a number of approval hurdles. The North Carolina Attorney General stated he would not oppose the deal, the Federal Trade Commission reviewed the merger, the deal was subject to Illinois and Wisconsin approval since Advocate Aurora is based in both states.[26] The deal was temporarily blocked by Illinois health board and then decided to postpone the vote. During a special meeting on November 14, 2022, the board voted 6-0 to approve the deal.[27] The merger was completed on December 2, 2022.[26][28]

Research[edit]

Formed in 2010, the Advocate Aurora Research Institute is part of Advocate Aurora Health, which conducts research and clinical trials.[29] In 2019, the Advocate Aurora Research Institute conducted 621 clinical trials, published 505 scientific articles, and received $36.8 million in external funding.[30]

Launched in 2014, Advocate Aurora Health publishes the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews (JPCRR), a peer-reviewed, open-access medical journal.[31] JPCRR content is published quarterly, with content freely available online.[31]

Hospitals[edit]

Hospital bed counts[edit]

This is a list of hospitals and their bed counts.

Hospital Name City, State Staffed Beds As of year Ref
Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center Milwaukee, WI 951 2021 [32]
Advocate Christ Medical Center Oak Lawn, IL 782 2021 [33]
Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Park Ridge, IL 643 2021 [33]
Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center Chicago, IL 292 2021 [33]
Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital Downers Grove, IL 288 2021 [33]
Advocate Children's Hospital Oak Lawn and Park Ridge, Illinois 381 [34]
Advocate Condell Medical Center Libertyville, IL 273 2021 [33]
Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin, IL 255 2021 [33]
Aurora West Allis Medical Center West Allis, WI 234 2021 [32]
Aurora Psychiatric Hospital Wauwatosa 105 [35]
Advocate South Suburban Hospital Hazel Crest, IL 233 2021 [33]
Aurora Sinai Medical Center Milwaukee, WI 228 2021 [32]
Advocate Trinity Hospital Chicago, IL 225 2021 [33]
Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Barrington, IL 176 2021 [33]
Aurora BayCare Medical Center Green Bay, WI 167 2021 [32]
Aurora Sheboygan Memorial Medical Center Sheboygan, WI 136 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Grafton Grafton, WI 132 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Summit Summit, WI 99 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI 79 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Kenosha Kenosha, WI 74 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Manitowoc County Two Rivers, WI 69 2021 [32]
Aurora Lakeland Medical Center Elkhorn, WI 64 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center-Bay Area Marinette, WI 55 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Burlington Burlington, WI 37 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Washington County Hartford, WI 35 2021 [32]
Aurora Medical Center - Mount Pleasant Mount Pleasant, WI 60 2021 [32]
Aurora Saint Luke's South Shore Cudahy, WI 275 2021 [32]
Total 5862 2021
Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay

Wisconsin

Illinois

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Our Story". Advocate Aurora Health. 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "Facts". University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Boulton, Guy (December 4, 2017). "Aurora Health Care and Advocate Health Care to merge". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  4. ^ "Aurora Health Care CEO Howe to retire". Milwaukee Business Journal. March 24, 2006.
  5. ^ Gregg, Helen (June 28, 2013). "100 Great Community Hospitals". Becker's Hospital Review.
  6. ^ Lincoln, Judy (March 15, 1995). "Country OKs hospital deal with Aurora". Milwaukee Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  7. ^ "Open house celebration Oct. 25 to unveil Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh" (Press release). Aurora Health Care. August 31, 2003. Archived from the original on January 17, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
  8. ^ Trewyn, Phill (March 28, 2003). "Aurora on track in Oshkosh". The Business Journal. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
  9. ^ Trewyn, Phill (September 3, 2003). "The answer at St. Luke's: elevate". The Business Journal. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
  10. ^ Williams, Scott (May 28, 2004). "Aurora plans to launch 8 'Quick Care' kiosks". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. FindArticles.com.
  11. ^ "Aurora Facilities". Aurora Health Care. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
  12. ^ "Aurora Health Care CEO Howe to retire". The Business Journal. March 24, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
  13. ^ "Turkal to take over Aurora Health Care". The Business Journal. September 19, 2006. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
  14. ^ Clark, Jonna (August 22, 2006). "Town and city come together over hospital". Waukesha Freeman. Aurora Health Care. Archived from the original on April 8, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  15. ^ Rinard, Amy (March 1, 2007). "Aurora given green light". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  16. ^ "Aurora to open Town of Summit clinic months ahead of schedule". Aurora Health Carea. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved June 10, 2009.[dead link]
  17. ^ a b Boulton, Guy; Sussman, Lawrence (August 1, 2007). "Aurora plans Grafton hospital". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  18. ^ "Advanced Healthcare and Aurora Health Care agree to form broad new alliance to improve care" (Press release). Aurora Health Care. July 31, 2007. Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  19. ^ Boulton, Guy (December 4, 2017). "Aurora Health Care and Advocate Health Care to merge". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  20. ^ Schenker, Lisa (October 21, 2021). "Amita Health splitting up, as organizations decide to go separate ways". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  21. ^ Goldberg, Stephanie (January 9, 2020). "Advocate Aurora Health to sell its 2 downstate hospitals: The facilities are to be acquired by Urbana-based Carle". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  22. ^ Chase, Brett; Sneha Dey (October 20, 2021). "Hospital system employees face firing as vaccine mandate deadlines approach". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  23. ^ "Advocate Aurora, Atrium Health systems to merge". Chicago Sun-Times. May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Hudson, Carolin (May 11, 2022). "Atrium Health to combine with Midwest's Advocate Aurora, creating nation's fifth-largest system". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  25. ^ Johnson, Lillian (May 13, 2022). "What Atrium Health-Advocate Aurora deal means for Wake Forest Baptist, WFU med school". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Kirchen, Rich (December 2, 2022). "Atrium, Advocate Aurora complete deal to become fifth-largest U.S. health system". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  27. ^ Rago, Gordon (November 14, 2022). "Major Atrium Health deal to combine with Midwest system wins key regulatory vote". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  28. ^ Hudson, Caroline (June 20, 2022). "Four factors to watch as Atrium Health, Advocate Aurora move ahead with mammoth combination". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  29. ^ "About Aurora Research Institute". Aurora Research Institute. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  30. ^ "Advocate Aurora Research Institute 2019 Annual Report" (PDF). Advocate Aurora Health.
  31. ^ a b "About the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews". Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "AHD Hospitals by Bed in WI". American Hospital Directory. 2020–2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Advocate Health Fact Sheets". Advocate Health Care. 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  34. ^ "Advocate Children's Hospital" (PDF). Advocate Children's Hospital. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  35. ^ "Aurora Psychiatric Hospital" (PDF). Aurora Psychiatric Hospital. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_Health_Care