Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives and San Francisco-based Dignity Health, which expect to finalize their merger this week, do not plan on expanding their footprint in Illinois despite moving their headquarters to Chicago, Crain's Chicago Business reports.
The combined 140-hospital organization, called CommonSpirit, will become the nation's second-largest hospital system by hospital count and bring in $30 billion in revenue.
A CHI spokesperson told Crain's the organization's Chicago headquarters will initially house the office of the CEO and will be used for leadership and governance meetings. A Nov. 19 internal memo obtained by Crain's confirmed the systems have "no plans to relocate national staff to Chicago at this time."
He added that the systems chose Chicago because "it is centrally located with access to all parts of the country where our ministries are located, is culturally diverse, and is home to a dynamic business and healthcare community."
David Smith, the founder of consulting firm Third Horizon Strategies, told the publication CommonSpirit likely won't look to expand its clinical footprint in Chicago, as the systems have years of integration ahead.
"In that sense, [Dignity and CHI] basically just become members of the community: They live in these neighborhoods, they hire from these neighborhoods, they consume services within our healthcare environment," he said.
To access the full report, click here.