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Rush and Endeavor propose $10 billion Chicago-area hospital network
A proposed merger would bring Rush and Endeavor Health’s 12 hospitals under one system, pending regulatory review. Leaders promise a $1 billion investment in community programs, research and workforce development, while nurses and health policy experts warn consolidation could affect workers, services and costs.
Rush University System for Health and Endeavor Health plan to combine their Chicago-area operations in a proposed merger that would create a system with 12 hospitals and more than $10 billion in revenue. The deal still must undergo regulatory review, a process that could take months.
The announcement, made Wednesday, Oct. 14, says Endeavor’s nine hospitals would join Rush’s three hospitals under the Rush umbrella. The hospitals would continue operating, but would take on Rush branding. Officials said patients should not see immediate changes while the proposal is reviewed.
The Endeavor hospitals are Swedish, Evanston, Edward, Skokie, Elmhurst, Glenbrook, Highland Park, Linden Oaks and Northwest Community. Rush’s current hospitals are Rush University Medical Center, Rush Copley Medical Center and Rush Oak Park Hospital.
Rush CEO Dr. Omar Lateef said the combined system aims to make specialty care and clinical trials more accessible across its hospitals, while allowing patients to receive care closer to home. If the merger is completed, Lateef would become CEO emeritus and strategic adviser. J.P. Gallagher, Endeavor’s current leader, would become president and CEO of the combined system.
The plan includes a $1 billion investment from Endeavor’s endowment for community programs, research, innovation and academic work. Lateef said some funding would support efforts to expand the health care workforce, as well as research into health equity and neuroscience. It would also back Rush programs addressing Chicago’s life-expectancy gap.
The proposed merger joins two large nonprofit systems amid growing consolidation in the hospital industry. Endeavor reported about $6.4 billion in revenue in 2025, but posted a $34 million loss after losing nearly $500 million in 2024, largely because of legal settlements. Rush reported about $4.4 billion in revenue in 2026.
Hospital consolidation can help organizations operate more efficiently and keep financially strained facilities open, said Zachary Levinson, a project director at KFF who studies hospital costs. But fewer competitors can also give hospitals more power to raise prices, he said, citing research that has found higher prices without clear improvements in quality.
Gallagher said financial pressures in health care did not directly prompt the merger, but described it as a long-term effort to strengthen the institutions and maintain their service to workers and communities.
The proposal comes as nurses at both systems have pursued union representation, with staffing levels and working conditions among their concerns. Nurses at Rush University Medical Center voted to unionize earlier this year. Nurses at Endeavor facilities in Evanston, Skokie, Glenbrook and Highland Park are organizing with Teamsters Local 743, and Edward Hospital nurses in Naperville recently filed a petition seeking a union election.
Nurses and their representatives have urged regulators to protect hospital services and give workers a voice in decisions during the merger. Gallagher said Endeavor leaders have been meeting with nurses and would continue investing in them. Lynne Barnes, a University of Illinois clinical professor who studies health administration, said leaders will need to communicate clearly and involve employees as the organizations’ workplace cultures are brought together.