Mercyhealth in Rockford, Ill., revealed plans to form a comprehensive partnership with the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago.
Under the partnership, Lurie Children's specialists will provide integrated neonatal and pediatric outpatient and inpatient care to young patients in the Rockford area, and will provide services at the Mercyhealth Women's and Children's Hospital and Medical Center Campus in Rockford once the facility opens in late 2018. Officials said they hope to expand the partnership to explore other opportunities in the future to meet the care needs of residents in the region.
The financial terms of the agreement, if any, were not disclosed.
"As the area's only Level III NICU for the 11 county region of northern Illinois, we provide the highest level of services for preemies, infants and children. We are constantly researching how we can enhance healthcare in the communities we serve and, over the last six months, we have been working with Lurie Children's on a plan to bring advanced pediatric subspecialty physicians to Rockford," said Javon Bea, president and CEO of Mercyhealth. "We are now able to compliment our current highly trained and well-respected pediatric subspecialists with a breadth of unique pediatric subspecialties. I am very excited we are able to bring these services to Rockford for our young patients and their families allowing them to focus on their medical needs without the additional burden of extended travel to Chicago except in unusual cases."