An Illinois state board approved a plan Monday by Advocate Aurora Health to combine with Southern system Atrium Health, after initially withholding support for the deal.
The state Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted 6-0 Monday afternoon to allow the combination to move forward. The union would create one of the largest health systems in the country, with 67 hospitals and more than 1,000 sites of care across Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.
The vote Monday followed months of uncertainty over the combination. When the issue first came before the board in September, board members said they didn’t understand key terms of the transaction. To the surprise of many, the board voted in September not to approve the applications and to reconsider the issue at a future meeting.
