Alexian Brothers, Loyola Announce Intent To Affiliate And Expand Pediatric Services

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, and MAYWOOD, Ill., Aug. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alexian Brothers Health System (ABHS) of Arlington Heights, Ill., and Loyola University Health System (Loyola) of Maywood, Ill., are partnering to expand the breadth and reach of their pediatric service lines in the Chicago area.

This new affiliation will benefit patients by building on and expanding the clinical program strengths of each health system, making them more available to the communities we serve, says Patricia Cassidy, ABHS Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer.

The affiliation will enable ABHS and Loyola to offer a comprehensive array of pediatric specialties and will increase access to pediatric sub-specialists, who often can be hard to find, Cassidy says.

"Access to high-quality pediatric clinical programs in a coordinated network of care is a vision both of our organizations share," says Daniel Post, Senior Vice President, Clinical Programs, and Chief Business Development Officer, at Loyola. The Loyola and Alexian Brothers Pediatric Affiliation will provide patients and referring physicians improved access to these high-quality programs in their communities.

Loyola is a nationally recognized leader in providing health-care and in conducting ground-breaking research to treat heart disease, cancer, organ transplantation and neurological disorders. Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) is the core of Loyola and one of the nations leading academic medical centers. The LUMC campus in Maywood, Ill., includes the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital of Loyola, Burn/Trauma Center, and Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine. Loyola also includes the Gottlieb Hospital campus in Melrose Park, Ill., Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and the Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing. Loyola is part of Livonia, Mich.-based CHE Trinity Health, one of the nations largest multi-institutional Catholic healthcare delivery systems. It serves people and communities in 20 states from coast to coast with 86 hospitals, 109 continuing-care facilities and an expansive network of home health and hospice programs. For more information, visit loyolamedicine.org.

Alexian Brothers Health System is a diversified Catholic health-care organization headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill. ABHS serves more than 2 million people every year through its five northwest suburban Chicago hospitals (including Alexian Brothers Women and Childrens Hospital in Hoffman Estates, Ill.) and conveniently located outpatient facilities. ABHS exists to care for the sick and to promote healing, with special attention to poor and vulnerable people. Each ABHS service is in place to improve quality of life and to accomplish the Alexian Brothers 800-year-old mission of promoting the physical, mental, spiritual and social well-being of all individuals. ABHS is part of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, the nations largest Catholic and non-profit health system, and the third-largest system in the United States. For more information, visit www.alexianbrothershealth.org.

Under a letter of intent announced today, the two Catholic health systems' children's hospitals propose to join forces as affiliates, and ABHS and Loyola will recruit and share pediatric sub-specialists and will collaborate on other physician-sharing opportunities. ABHS and Loyola also plan to work with community-based pediatricians on population health management opportunities and to expand access at each institution as well as in community-based ambulatory-care practices.

Anne Dillon
708-216-8232
[email protected]

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SOURCE Loyola University Health System