Atrium Health completes merger with Advocate Aurora Health

Atrium Health has completed a merger with the Midwest-based Advocate Aurora Health. The combined services, known as Advocate Health, will leave a footprint across six states.

The two companies first announced the planned merger in May, and the deal was formally closed last week. 

According to a news release, Advocate Aurora Health operates facilities across the South and maintains a presence in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas.  The newly combined company will operate over 1,000 health care sites and will be the fifth-largest nonprofit health system in the nation.

Atrium Health will maintain its name and branding in local communities, and Wake Forest School of Medicine will serve as the academic core of the organization. 

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein released a statement expressing unease about how the merger might negatively impact health services in rural areas, but says there is no legal basis to block the deal.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell shares Stein’s concern about the merger threatening hospital costs and safety.