Advocate, NorthShore Partner With UChicago In Pediatric Care

CHICAGO — Children with cancer, blood diseases and those in need of surgery will have better access to care under a clinical collaboration between the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital and the partnership between Advocate Children’s Hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem. The collaboration was announced Wednesday and takes effect immediately.

“We are laser-focused on providing quality outcomes and seamless patient experiences that exceed all expectations,” said Mike Farrell, chief of the Advocate-NorthShore joint venture, in a release. “That’s what children and their families facing serious health concerns deserve. By sharing expertise, best practices and resources across pediatric heart, cancer and surgical care, we will be able to better meet their needs.”

More than four years ago, Advocate and NorthShore announced plans to merge and create what would have been the 11th largest nonprofit health care group in the country. A federal judge initially gave the deal a green light but the Federal Trade Commission appealed in 2016, a federal appellate court agreed and the judge reversed the decision. Anti-trust regulators gave said it would have increased cost and reduce quality of care for North Shore residents to allow the joint venture to control more than half of the Chicagoland market.

The hospital groups decided not to keep fighting the rulings and in May announced a joint partnership limited to pediatric care. Part of the collaboration is a planned pediatric care center at Edens Plaza in the site of the former Carson's Furniture Warehouse scheduled to open next year.

The partnership shows health care providers are continuing to reach farther into the suburbs as other hospitals in the Chicago area have closed their inpatient pediatric units in recent years, according to the Chicago Tribune. Under the new collaboration, specialists from Hyde Park-based Comer will be available across Advocate-NorthShore locations, while doctors from the Advocate-NorthShore venture will be available at Comer's locations. Many of Comer locations are on Chicago's South Side and the city's south and west suburbs, while many of Advocate-NorthShore's locations are in the north and northwest suburbs.

“By partnering on these important pediatric services, we are building a stronger and more diverse network of care,” Comer Children's Hospital chief physician John M. Cunningham said in a release. “We are tapping physicians with strong national reputations in their fields to help lead our collective efforts.”

Along with the Advocate-NorthShore partnership, Lurie Children's Hospital is also expanding in the North Shore. Lurie is investing more than $30 million to create an outpatient surgical center in Northbrook.

Evanston-based NorthShore also plans to open up 50 additional immediate care centers and reorganize four of its north suburban hospitals as part of a $400 million plan over the next two years, the Tribune reported. While they will keep their emergency rooms, Evanston Hospital will specialize in cancer, cardiac issues and complex neurosurgery and Glenbrook Hospital will focus on geriatric care. Highland Park Hospital will stay a full-service medical center.

Related:

• Edens Plaza Pediatric Care Center Approved By Wilmette Board
• Children's Hospital Opening Northbrook Outpatient Surgical Center
• Edens Plaza Carson's Space Could House Pediatric Care Center
• NorthShore-Advocate Merger Scrapped After Ruling