The boards of directors of Columbia St. Mary's and Froedtert & Community Health today announced the approval of a joint operating agreement to form Progressive Health, an organization that will financially integrate, govern and lead the combined hospital systems.

"The name Progressive Health was chosen to reflect the system's strong forward-thinking ideas about how health care should be delivered," the hospitals said in a joint announcement.

The combined system includes an academic medical center that will ensure it remains on the leading edge of the research and technology that drive progress in health care.

The system will continue Froedtert's partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin Physicians Group and create new links between the academic medical center and community hospitals.

William Petasnick, president and chief executive officer of Wauwatosa-based Froedtert & Community Health, and Leo Brideau, president and CEO of Milwaukee-based Columbia St. Mary's, will serve as co-presidents of Progressive Health.

Progressive Health will be led by a 16-member, community-based board of directors, which will be chaired by James Wigdale, chairman emeritus of Marshall & Ilsley Corp. Brideau and Petasnick will serve as members of the board. 

"Progressive Health will provide a tremendous opportunity to transform health care throughout this region," Brideau said. "It will be the premier health care system, leading advancements in patient quality and safety, avoiding duplication and enhancing our obligation to be good stewards of community resources."

"Progressive Health will offer our patients access to the latest technology, evidence-based care and highest standards of quality," Petasnick said. "We will focus on treating each patient's unique needs and strive to go beyond what is expected."

"The partnership between these outstanding community hospitals and academic medical center is absolutely the right thing for this community," Wigdale said. "As board chair of this new organization, I firmly believe Progressive Health will offer consumers a better choice, providing the highest quality care at the lowest cost while fulfilling our commitment to be good stewards of the community's resources."

"The Medical College of Wisconsin endorses the formation of Progressive Health and its strong commitment to academic medicine," said T. Michael Bolger, president and CEO, Medical College of Wisconsin. "This new organization will expand existing links between our academic medical center and community hospitals, providing patients throughout our region with greater access to Medical College faculty physicians."

Columbia St. Mary's and Froedtert & Community Health plan to continue to work through legal documents and regulatory review processes to complete the merger later this year. Additional information is available at www.ProgressiveHealthPartners.com.