Dr. John Raymond on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News
Froedtert Health and ThedaCare have signed a letter of intent to merge into one organization. The combined health system will accelerate the collaborative work already underway between the two organizations.
Medical College of Wisconsin President and CEO Dr. John Raymond told Wisconsin’s Afternoon News the consolidation will help expand healthcare access, especially to advanced medicine, for Wisconsinites.
“These are Wisconsin healthcare systems that have their roots deeply embedded in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley,” said Dr. Raymond. “So this isn’t a merger where somebody from somewhere else is acquiring one of our healthcare gems.”
Froedtert Health and ThedaCare have worked together extensively through their partnership with the MCW. They’re pursuing a joint venture to create two small-scale hospitals in Fond du Lac and Oshkosh. Froedtert Health and ThedaCare said they will continue their efforts to recruit and retain talent, close care gaps and make it easier for patients to navigate the health care system.
Dr. Raymond said the merger will help cement relationships with MCW’s Green Bay regional campus and residency programs in the Fox Valley. And Neenah-based ThedaCare will address the lack of physicians in the Northwoods part of the state by placing residents and medical students there.
Dr. Raymond doesn’t expect increased costs for patients: “They’re geographically contiguous,” he said of Froedterd Health and ThedaCare. “That economy of scale is something they can achieve in this region.
Wisconsin leadership will continue after the merger: a parent board will include 18 current board members from both organizations. Initially, Froedert’s president and CEO Cathy Jacobson will serve as the merger’s CEO, and ThedaCare’s president and CEO Dr. Imran A. Andrabi will serve as the merger’s president. Andrabi will assume both roles when Jacobson retires after a six-month transition period following the combined health system’s launch.
Completion of the merger is expected by late this year or early 2024.