Two Years Later: How Advocate Health is Redefining Care

Two years after forming the nation’s third-largest not-for-profit integrated health system, Advocate Health is demonstrating its commitment to not only improve, but also transform care for patients and communities.

Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health came together in December 2022, forming Advocate Health, with the goal of establishing clinical preeminence and safety, advancing learning and discovery, building a next-generation workforce, improving affordability, advancing health equity and leading environmental sustainability.

“Two years ago, we set out on an ambitious journey to transform how health care is delivered,” said Advocate Health CEO Eugene A. Woods. “We said at the time that the measure of our success will be in answering one question: ‘Are our patients and communities better because of our combination?’ As we look back on our second year, the answer to that question is unequivocally yes.”

In the Advocate Health 2024 Year in Review, the organization shares that since coming together it has transformed care in a number of ways, including:

• Reducing patient mortality by 14%

• Achieving a record $436 million in research funding

• Hiring more than 7,000 net new teammates across the organization

• Addressing medical debt, with plans to cancel 11,500 liens

• Closing hypertension and diabetes care gaps by more than 10%

• Initiating more than 50 energy reduction and renewables projects to reduce emissions

“As we look to the future, we’re not thinking about just adapting to changes in our field,” Woods said. “Rather, we intend to lead the way as a beacon that illuminates new paths to healing and well-being for every hand we hold and every life we touch.”

About Advocate Health

Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.