June 18, 2021 – Ochsner Health (New Orleans, LA) will take over Rush Health System (Meridian, MS), a seven-hospital system in Mississippi and Alabama.
Rush and Ochsner signed a “shared mission agreement” that builds upon an existing partnership started in 2019, the hospital groups said.
When the transaction is complete, Rush Health Systems will be renamed Ochsner Rush Health and its employees will see minimum wage increase to $12. The organizations said they expect the deal to be finalized in mid-2022, following necessary regulatory approvals.
Ochsner is Louisiana’s largest hospital system as well as the state’s largest non-governmental employer.
The deal with Rush represents a major geographic expansion, giving Ochsner a large footprint in eastern Mississippi and moving it into Alabama for the first time.
Ochsner CEO Warner Thomas called the takeover a “natural progression” of the existing partnership between the hospital groups. “We are excited to work with them to expand services while improving the health and wellness of people in the communities Rush serves,” Thomas said.