Loyola University Health System Joins Forces with Gottlieb Health Resources

Loyola University Health System, which includes Loyola University Medical Center, assumed governance of Gottlieb Health Resources in Melrose Park on July 1, 2008. The agreement, reached in January, allows patients at Gottlieb to participate in research conducted at Loyola and access the cutting-edge care that is the hallmark of a major teaching hospital.

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital remains a full-service community hospital under the terms of the agreement. Loyola University Health System’s Board of Directors has governance of all Gottlieb entities, including the 250-bed hospital, the Gottlieb Health & Fitness Center and the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center, all located on the Melrose Park campus.

This agreement represents the coming together of two respected not-for-profit institutions that complement each other, the sum of which greatly enhances health care in the area, said Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, MSc, chief executive officer, Loyola University Health System.

Loyola University Health System has grown significantly in recent years. The agreement helps address critical capacity issues for the 561-licensed-bed Loyola University Hospital and associated 22 outpatient clinics throughout the western suburbs.

Loyola will relocate most of its general obstetrics and general gynecology services and its general orthopaedic joint program to the Gottlieb campus, which is known as Loyola University Health System at Gottlieb. The new ventures in general obstetrics and orthopaedic surgery are just two of many growth strategies that Loyola and Gottlieb are developing together.

The relationship also will allow Loyola to expand its program in clinical research. With Gottlieb as a partner, Loyola can provide more patients with access to leading-edge technologies and therpies that are being tested in clinical trials.

The two hospitals’ medical staffs remain separate, and there are no plans to eliminate positions at either facility. As part of the transaction, Gottlieb provided $15 million from its assets for future operating capital and $75 million to create the Gottlieb Memorial Foundation, a charitable organization created to support future health initiatives at Gottlieb.