It began as Evanston Hospital in the late 19th century.
Now, the chain which operates that hospital and eight others in the Evanston/Chicago area will no longer be called NorthShore University HealthSystem.
Instead, announced on Tuesday, the new name is Endeavor Health, with facilities stretching from Naperville to Highland Park … but still headquartered in Evanston.
J.P. Gallagher, President and CEO of the chain, said that the name Endeavor is “both inspirational and aspirational.”
The chain’s most recent actual full name was NorthShore – Edward Elmhurst Health, following a 2022 merger of two hospital systems.
Before that, NorthShore had taken over Swedish Hospital in Chicago, and Northwest Community in Arlington Heights, moving beyond the four original NorthShore hospitals, Evanston, Glenbrook, Skokie and Highland Park.
“As a newly combined health system, ” explained spokesperson Spencer Walrath in an email to Evanston Now, “changing our name, unifying our brand and uniting our teams is the next step in our evolution.”
While the corporate name is changing, each individual hospital will retain its prior identity, just with a different sign and a different name for the parent firm.
For example, Evanston Hospital will become Endeavor Health Evanston Hospital.
Endeavor’s 1.3 million patients will still be able to keep their doctors, and may not notice any change at all.
“At the same time,” Walrath said, “they’ll have broader access to specialties and sub-specialties, and learn more about what we have to offer as a combined system.”
Besides the nine hospitals, Endeavor has more than 27,000 employees, and 300 care sites, including offices and immediate care centers.
It is the third largest health chain in Illinois.
Updated signage, websites, and uniforms will be coming over the next few months, “culminating,” Endeavor says, “in a brand new advertising campaign in the first quarter of 2024,” which will no doubt “endeavor” to get out the system’s message.
I hope that with this new ownership Endeavor Health will hire more general practitioners. I am never able to see my own physician if I get sick or have another medical situation. I called in June 2023 for my annual exam with my PCP. First time available was February 2024. I don’t consider this acceptable and they have close to a monopoly in the north shore area.
I had the same issue. I switched to Northwestern at Sherman and Church and have been very happy
This appears not to be an ownership change, but a reorganization of the existing pieces. Still, I hope that access improves. I have had the same problem reaching my PCP and some specialists…..
Mergers are generally made to save money by consolidation of services. They save money for the merging companies. It’s all about profits. Not patients. If they’re inconvenienced, well, that’s the patients’ problem.
The results of one of the last mergers, well, I wanted to make an appointment with a in network doc, hopefully this past July. My appointment? In late July of 2024. Another network doc? Had to go to Lake Bluff.
My healthcare insurance goes up, often disproportionately but never less than inflation. My network choices to see any specialty doc? Fewer. Appointments with my PCP? Usually have to see Nurse Practitioner.
In terms of cost, I first read about how the medical system operates in the 2013 Time Magazine article called “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us”. I proceeded to read the book. Highly disturbing stuff introducing me to the “chargemaster” & how medical bills are calculated. This book is no longer available but has been since been updated under a slightly different name, “Bitter Pill”, which I haven’t read but just took out.
Former ENH employee
I worked for this system for 8 years when it was Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. The original hospitals were Evanston, Glenbrook, and Highland Park. Skokie was the beginning of other acquisitions.
What changes did you see, Sharon, during that period of time (if any)?
Ah, changes! Creation of a foundation for fundraising, once part of corporate. Transition from affiliation with Northwestern’s Medical School to University of Chicago’s & the renaming to North Shore University Health System [ is there a North Shore University? Or is this some unidentified academic affiliation just to make you assume institutional quality & credibility?] And many ambitious corporate execs. Thus, Skokie, and what, 3 more now? If you want to have your healthcare provider in Evanston with Endeavor system , you can get an appointment in maybe 6 months. Your visit will be scheduled for 10-20 minutes. You will rarely speak on the phone with your provider, as “schedulers” are mostly off site. As a client of this system, the community hospital is now a corporate chain , get us in and get us out at the rate of about 6 per hour. But that’s not what you asked, so yes, I saw changes.