Endeavor Health and Rush University System for Health Announce Proposed Merger

Endeavor Health announced Wednesday it plans to merge under the umbrella of Rush University System for Health, creating a proposed 12-hospital system spanning Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, wbez.org reported.

The proposed combination would form a health system with more than $10 billion in revenue, uniting Endeavor’s nine Chicago-area hospitals with Rush’s existing facilities. The institutions involved on the Endeavor side include Swedish Hospital, Evanston Hospital, Edward Hospital, Skokie Hospital, Elmhurst Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital, Highland Park Hospital, Linden Oaks Hospital, and Northwest Community Hospital. Rush brings its current system comprising Rush University Medical Center, Rush Copley Medical Center, and Rush Oak Park Hospital.

Patients will not see immediate changes as the transaction moves through a regulatory review process that could take months. If final approval is granted, the individual hospital facilities will continue to operate under Rush branding.

Access and Financial Realities Behind the Proposal

Dr. Omar Lateef, president and CEO of the Rush University System for Health and Rush University Medical Center, stated that the merger is designed to expand patient access to clinical trials and specialized care across all participating sites. J.P. Gallagher, current leader of Endeavor Health, will become president and CEO of the new combined system, while Lateef will transition to CEO emeritus and serve as a strategic adviser.

Records indicate the agreement comes as Endeavor works to stabilize its finances following a $34 million loss in 2025 on roughly $6.4 billion in revenue, preceded by a nearly $500 million loss the prior year largely driven by legal settlements. Rush recorded about $4.4 billion in revenue for 2026. Both entities operate as nonprofits.

Zachary Levinson, project director of the KFF Project on Hospital Costs, pointed to broader industry trends toward market consolidation driven by federal healthcare spending cuts. While hospital leaders argue mergers improve operational efficiency and protect struggling facilities, research indicates such combinations frequently reduce market competition and increase patient costs without clear quality improvements.

Community Investments and Workforce Challenges

The proposed agreement includes a $1 billion investment funded by Endeavor’s endowment, earmarked for community programs, innovation, research, academics, and workforce expansion. Lateef noted that the funds will support initiatives targeting healthcare staff shortages and efforts by Rush to narrow the life expectancy gap in Chicago.

At the same time, labor representation efforts are underway across both systems. Nurses at Edward Hospital in Naperville filed a petition this week to hold a union election under the National Nurses Organizing Committee. Nurses at Rush University Medical Center voted earlier in the year to unionize under the same umbrella, an affiliate of National Nurses United, while staff at several Endeavor hospitals in Evanston, Skokie, Glenbrook, and Highland Park have organized under Teamsters Local 743.

Union representatives voiced caution regarding the corporate restructuring. Brenda Langford, a Stroger Hospital nurse and board member of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, called on regulators to scrutinize the transaction to guarantee that all services are protected.