Wisconsin-based Froedtert Health, ThedaCare Announce Plans to Merge

In a continuation of the consolidation trend in the Wisconsin healthcare market, Milwaukee-based Froedtert Health and Neenah-based ThedaCare have signed a letter of intent to merge.

Froedtert Health is an integrated health care system providing a variety of health-related services, including hospitals and health centers, home care, laboratory, health insurance, employer health services and workplace clinics, and digital health solutions.

The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network is a partnership between Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin supporting patient care, innovation, medical research and education. Its health network operates eastern Wisconsin's only academic medical center and adult Level I Trauma Center at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee. Its network, includes 10 hospital locations, more than 2,100 physicians and more than 45 health centers and clinics.

Eight-hospital ThedaCare delivers care to more than 600,000 residents in 17 counties and employs approximately 7,000 healthcare professionals.

As a story on the Wisconsin Public Radio website notes, the announced Froedtert and ThedaCare merger comes after Gundersen Health System merged with Bellin Health, and Advocate Aurora Health combined with Atrium Health in late 2022.  Marshfield Clinic Health System and Essentia health also announced merger talks last year.

“Both of our organizations have deep, long-standing ties in the communities we serve. Our Wisconsin roots have been instrumental in building creative solutions to meet our communities’ health needs,” said Cathy Jacobson, president and CEO of Froedtert Health, in a statement. “By coming together with the state’s leader in regional community health, our combined organization will be poised to meaningfully address health equity and disparities, enhance access to a broader array of services and make it easier for patients to navigate the health care system. The Medical College of Wisconsin will continue to be an important partner in our work together.”

The organizations know each other well through their existing quaternary partnership, which includes the Medical College of Wisconsin, to expand access to the most advanced levels of medicine and a joint venture to create two new health campuses. The health systems said the combined organization would further their current work together to close care gaps, recruit and retain talent, develop innovations to meet patient needs and advance their respective legacies of clinical excellence and community focus.

“ThedaCare and Froedtert Health have a commitment to the people of Wisconsin,” said Imran A. Andrabi, M.D., ThedaCare president and CEO, in a statement. “We are alike in many ways, and our leaders and our boards have long been asking how we can accelerate our work to make a positive and lasting impact on our state. We have a shared vision for what we can do together to improve the health and well-being of the communities and be proactive partners in health. We are eager to start exploring how we can build a healthier, brighter future for Wisconsin.”

The combined organization will be governed by a parent board composed of representatives of both organizations. The initial board will have 18 members, including the president and CEO of Froedtert Health, and the president and CEO of ThedaCare. The initial board chair will be Jud Snyder, Froedtert Health’s current vice chair and chair-elect. The initial vice chair will be Jim Kotek, ThedaCare’s current board chair.

Following the launch of the combined health system, Froedtert’s Jacobson will initially assume the role of CEO, and ThedaCare’s Andrabi will serve as president. After a six-month transition period following the launch of the combined health system, Jacobson will retire from the organization and Andrabi will assume the role of president and CEO of the combined organization.

Other executive officers of the combined organization will be:

• Thomas Arquilla, chief strategy officer of ThedaCare will serve as chief growth officer.
• Scott Hawig, M.B.A., executive vice president of finance, chief financial and administrative officer and treasurer of Froedtert Health will serve as chief financial officer.
• David Olson, chief business development officer of Froedtert Health, will serve as chief business development officer.
• Ian Schwartz, M.D., executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Froedtert Health, will serve as chief clinical officer.
• Mark Thompson, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of ThedaCare, will serve as chief transformation investment officer.

Over the next several months, Froedtert Health and ThedaCare will work toward refining the details of a definitive agreement, which also requires regulatory approval. The goal is to launch the combined health system by the end of this calendar year.