MACON, Ga. — Atrium Health Navicent, Central Georgia's largest hospital, now has a new parent company.
Atrium Health merged with Advocate Aurora to form a $27 billion company called Advocate Health. The groups announced the plans in May, but made things official Friday. Now, they say they'll be able to serve more patients at a lower cost.
Advocate Aurora is based in Illinois. The system brings 27 hospitals to the table, which serve 3,000,000 patients a year in Wisconsin and Illinois. They specialize in cardiology, oncology, neuroscience and pediatrics.
Atrium also serves 3,000,000 a year in Alabama, the Carolinas and of course, Georgia. Together, the new company is Advocate Health. It's the nation's fifth-largest nonprofit health system.
"This combination brings many new benefits to our patients by increasing our ability to invest in and improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve," said in a statement.
The hospital will keep its name: Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center.
"Patients can continue to count on their trusted doctors and clinical care teams at the convenient locations they've always visited," the statement read, though, it's unclear what, if anything will change at the local level.
The new company's website says nationally, they operate 1,000 sites of care with more than 21,000 doctors and 42,000 nurses. They aim to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. The new organization plans to address root causes of health inequity, and to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
13WMAZ also reached out to Advocate Aurora's and Atrium's corporate offices. Neither responded.