May 29--Chicago's Northwestern Memorial HealthCare looks to expand further west, disclosing Thursday that it has begun talks with a smaller hospital system in DeKalb.
Northwestern Memorial and KishHealth System have signed a letter of intent to "explore an affiliation." A Northwestern spokesman said it is too early to say what a potential affiliation would look like but it could lead to a merger of the two organizations.
KishHealth, a non-profit system, has two hospitals: the 98-bed Kishwaukee in DeKalb and 25-bed Valley West in Sandwich. It also has several outpatient centers.
The deal talks come less than a year after Northwestern Memorial combined with Winfield-based Cadence Health, which owns Central DuPage and Delnor hospitals.
Northwestern Memorial is primarily known for its 894-bed academic medical center in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. The system also includes a hospital in Lake Forest.
"Our board of directors employed a thoughtful process that led them to conclude that Northwestern Memorial HealthCare would best enable KishHealth to build upon its already high standard of care," said Kevin Poorten, KishHealth's president and chief executive. "The proposed alignment positions us to serve the future needs of our patients and community."
KishHealth reported revenue of $221.7 million for the year ended April 30, 2014, a decline of 2.4 percent from 2013.
Northwestern HealthCare, a nonprofit company, had revenue of $2.4 billion for the year ended Aug. 31, up 42 percent from 2013.
asachdev@tribpub.com
