Elmhurst Hospital would carry the Rush name by early 2027 under a proposed merger announced Wednesday, Oct. 14, that would combine Endeavor Health and Rush University System for Health into a 12-hospital system.

The deal requires state and federal regulatory approval. If completed, it would create the largest hospital system in Illinois by hospital count, with more than 46,000 employees and 400 care sites, according to the Chicago Tribune. The combined system would generate nearly $11 billion in annual revenue, Fierce Healthcare reported. The "Endeavor" name would eventually disappear, though hospitals would keep their location identifiers.

Endeavor Health President and CEO J.P. Gallagher called recent Chicago-area hospital closures and service cuts "sobering" and said the merger is "us moving in an opposite direction," the Tribune reported.

Endeavor Health is committing $1 billion from its endowment to the combined system: $500 million for Rush University programs, research and clinical trials; $300 million to reduce healthcare disparities; and $200 million for care quality and innovation, according to Endeavor Health's announcement. No timeline for that spending has been disclosed.

Gallagher would lead the combined system as president and CEO once the deal closes. Dr. Omar Lateef, Rush's current president and CEO, would become CEO emeritus and strategic advisor. A 20-member board with equal representation from both organizations would govern the system, chaired by a Rush appointee.

Endeavor's predecessor, NorthShore University HealthSystem, walked away from a previous merger in 2017 after a federal judge ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission's challenge to that deal. Gallagher told the Tribune the two systems have already begun discussions with regulators and expects the "process to go smoothly."

When asked about potential job losses, Lateef told the Tribune the merger is about growth. "We're doing this to grow and we want to grow our footprint … We expect jobs to increase," he said.

Elmhurst Hospital has been part of Endeavor Health since the 2022 merger of NorthShore and Edward-Elmhurst Health. The hospital is in the middle of a centennial campus expansion that includes a 16-bed patient observation unit that opened July 24 and planned additions above the Nancy Knowles Cancer Center. Dr. Kim Darey, president of Endeavor Health Elmhurst Hospital, said in July, when the observation unit opened, that the hospital is "committed to evolving to meet its needs for the next century."

The merger announcement did not address how the Rush rebranding would affect Elmhurst Hospital's ongoing expansion projects.