Rush Health Systems (Rush) and Ochsner Health (Ochsner) signed a shared mission agreement for Rush to merge with Ochsner, expected to be finalized in mid-2022. This agreement builds upon the existing strategic partnership agreement between the two health systems announced in 2019. Working together, Ochsner and Rush will expand access to consumers in east Mississippi and west Alabama, including high-quality, affordable and innovative care and more clinical specialties close to home.

As part of Ochsner, Rush will be able to grow existing programs and offer new services for the consumers it serves across the region. Employees of Rush Health Systems will also see an increase in minimum wage to $12 per hour once the merger is complete in mid-2022, positively impacting more than 400 employees and representing an investment of at least $1.5 million in the people who play vital roles within the health system.

As Rush Health Systems joins Ochsner, the health system will focus on the following to benefit consumers, including:

• Expanded access to specialty and sub-specialty services so that more consumers can receive the care they need closer to home, including cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, neurology, and highly specialized stroke care, women’s services, cancer treatment and surgical oncology.
• Innovation in health care delivery through Ochsner’s expanded technological and digital capabilities, including expansions in telehealth, digital monitoring, and clinical improvements guided by artificial intelligence.
• Access to Ochsner’s robust clinical research network, one of the largest in the Gulf South, so Rush consumers will be able to participate in groundbreaking, novel therapies, including the latest in cancer treatment, close to home.
• More efficient, affordable care through the sharing of best practices and resources. Economies of scale will allow Ochsner to find efficiencies throughout the system, and then invest more in programs and resources locally.

Rush Health Systems will become Ochsner Rush Health when the merger is complete in mid-2022, following regulatory approvals. The partnership will be governed by a board comprised of Rush community members, physicians and representatives from Ochsner Health. Rush medical staff will continue to be comprised of employed and independent physicians. All medical staff will retain existing privileges after the effective merger date. Consumers may continue to use existing insurance at all facilities.

Rush Health Systems is the largest, most diverse health care system in East Mississippi and West Alabama. With a 106-year legacy of medical innovation, quality care and service to others, Rush Health Systems is comprised of seven hospitals and more than 30 clinics, with 250 staff and contracted physicians and 95 advanced practice providers. Rush is the largest non-governmental employer in the region. Rush Health Systems includes Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, MS; The Specialty Hospital of Meridian, MS; Medical Foundation, Inc., Laird Hospital, Union, MS; H.C. Watkins Hospital, Quitman, MS; Scott Regional Hospital, Morton, MS; John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital, DeKalb, MS, and Choctaw General Hospital in Butler, AL.

Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate. Ochsner Health is a not-for-profit committed to giving back to the communities it serves through preventative screenings, health and wellness resources, and partnerships with innovative organizations that share our vision. Ochsner Health healed more than 900,000 people from across the globe in 2020, providing the latest medical breakthroughs and therapies, including digital medicine for chronic conditions and telehealth specialty services. Ochsner Health is a national leader, named the top hospital in Louisiana and a top children’s hospital by U.S. News & World Report. As Louisiana’s leading health care educator, Ochsner Health and its partners educate thousands of health care professionals annually. Ochsner Health is innovating health care by investing in new technologies and research to make world-class care more accessible, affordable, convenient, and effective. Ochsner’s team of more than 32,000 employees and 4,500 providers are working to reinvent the future of health and wellness in the region.

Information reported by Oschner Health on June 17, 2021. 

Contact information: Giselle Hecker, Media Contact, Oschner Health, 1514 Jefferson Highway, New Orleans, Louisiana 70121; 504-703-0220; E-mail: ghecker@ochsner.org; Website: https://www.ochsner.org/.