ThedaCare, Froedtert to merge Jan. 1. Here's how it will affect Fox Valley patients
Benita Mathew
APPLETON - ThedaCare and Froedtert Health finalized their agreement to merge and will become one health system on Jan. 1, they announced Tuesday.
The combined network will include 18 hospitals and other clinics in southeastern, northeastern and central Wisconsin, with a combined revenue of well over $4 billion.
Here is what we know about how it will impact health care around the Fox Valley.
More:Froedtert Health and ThedaCare finalize deal to merge, the latest in wave of hospital consolidation
Name, headquarters of combined health system not chosen; ThedaCare name will continue on
A name for the new health system hasn't been decided yet, though both the brand names for ThedaCare and Froedtert will remain, said ThedaCare president and CEO Dr. Imran Andrabi in an interview Tuesday.
Details on where the headquarters will be located are still undecided.
The name "Theda" extends all the way back to 1903, when Theda Clark Peters, daughter of Kimberly-Clark co-founder Charles B. Clark, died from complications after childbirth in part because there was no hospital nearby. She left $96,000 in her will for a community project and her family used the money to build Theda Clark Memorial Hospital, which opened six years later in Neenah.
President and CEO Cathy Jacobson will lead the merger as the CEO and Andrabi will become the president of the organization. After six months, Jacobson will retire and Andrabi will take her position as the new leader.
No layoffs or higher costs anticipated, CEO says
It is yet to be seen how this consolidation will affect patients in Wisconsin. The hospital systems each say the merger will expand care in the Fox Cities and provide more opportunities outside of Milwaukee.
Jacobson said Tuesday that jobs will not be impacted and there won't be layoffs. By improving care through the consolidations, costs will also remain low, she said.
"They should be able to take care of you just like they have been taking care of you but now you’re connected to a whole system," Andrabi said.
However, research has shown that hospital consolidation tends to lead to increased prices for patients. A KFF health analysis published in 2020 found that prices at an average hospital rose after a consolidation.
Board to be announced in January, will be equally split between ThedaCare, Froedtert members
When members of the executive team were named, a majority were from Froedtert.
Members on the board are expected to be announced next month. The roles will be shared equally between the two hospital systems, according to Tuesday's press release.
The two health systems previously partnered to build micro-hospitals in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac and offering heart and lung transplant recovery in the Fox Valley.
Froedtert plans to build a new community hospital and medical office building in Sheboygan. Froedtert also bought a majority stake of Holy Family Memorial in Manitowoc in 2021.
More:ThedaCare, Froedtert merger: Here's what Fox Valley patients need to know, what will change
Sarah Volpenhein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
Benita Mathew is a health reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her at bmathew@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @benita_mathew.