5 things to know about Froedtert Health and ThedaCare combining to form new health system

Health systems Froedtert Health and ThedaCare will combine by the end of the year, they announced Tuesday.

If approved by regulators, the consolidation would create a new regional health system based in Wisconsin.

Here's what to know about the planned consolidation.

What will the combined health system be called?

Froedtert President and CEO Cathy Jacobson said both the Froedtert and ThedaCare names will continue on, but that it has not been decided what the name of the combined health system would be or what name the hospitals would go by.

"Very quickly we realized that the name Froedtert Health and ThedaCare are trusted names in our communities," said Jim Kotek, the chair of ThedaCare's board of trustees. "We need to figure out ways for those names to continue going forward."

How big will the new health system be?

The consolidation will create a regional health system that includes 18 hospitals and many other health care sites in southeastern, northeastern and central Wisconsin, with combined revenue of more than $4 billion.

The Froedtert system includes Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa, the primary teaching hospital for the Medical College of Wisconsin, along with nine other hospitals, including four "micro-hospitals" in Milwaukee's suburbs.

ThedaCare, whose biggest hospitals are in Neenah and Appleton, also has five small, rural hospitals serving Berlin, New London, Shawano, Waupaca and Wild Rose.

What does this mean for my care?

Jacobson, the Froedtert CEO, stressed that the health system will be locally run and based in Wisconsin.

"We want to play a part in making the lives of the people of Wisconsin better," she said.

John Raymond, the president and CEO of the Medical College of Wisconsin, said the consolidation was "good news" and hoped it would "further advance high quality health care to more people in Wisconsin."

When asked if they anticipated any service cuts as a result of the consolidation, Dr. Imran Andrabi, the CEO and president of ThedaCare, said he hoped to look at how the two health systems complement each other and where there may be opportunities for improving care.

"Our drivers are bringing comprehensive care close to home, and that should drive us to make the right decisions that we need to make," he said.

Research has found that hospital consolidation often leads to higher prices for patients with no significant improvement in quality of care. This concern has led to more regulatory scrutiny of hospital mergers.

Who will lead the combined health system?

Jacobson, of Froedtert, would serve as CEO of the combined health system for the first six months before she "retires from the organization," she said.

Following her departure, Andrabi, the ThedaCare CEO, would become CEO and president of the combined system.

Jacobson, who has been Froedtert's president since 2011 and CEO since 2012, did not say why she was retiring from Froedtert at this time.

Where will the health system be headquartered?

Jacobson said they have not decided where the headquarters of the system would be. Froedtert Health is headquartered in Wauwatosa and ThedaCare in Neenah.

In mergers generally, the headquarters often go where the larger entity is. But sometimes, merging entities share headquarters, as was the case when Green Bay-based Bellin Health and La Crosse-based Gundersen Health merged.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about the consolidation of Froedtert and ThedaCare