Little Company of Mary Hospital in Chicago. (Photo from LCM Health News)

The boards of OSF HealthCare and Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers have adopted a definitive merger agreement and decided on a new name for the major facility serving Chicago’s southwest side: OSF HealthCare Little Company of Mary Medical Center.

The announcement was made Oct. 9 and the merger is anticipated to take place on Feb. 1, 2020.

“A focused discernment went into the decision to rename our facility,” said Sister Sharon Ann Walsh, LCM, chairperson of the board of directors for Little Company of Mary. The health care group employs 2,100 people in 12 facilities, including a 252-bed acute care hospital in Evergreen Park.

“As our two congregations came together and discussed ways to reflect our new partnership, it was important to both communities that we found a name that would preserve our strong heritage,” said Sister Sharon Ann.

OSF HealthCare is headquartered in Peoria and is owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. It embraces nearly 21,000 “mission partners” (employees) in 126 locations, including 13 hospitals and two colleges of nursing.

“We admire the longstanding commitment to the gift of life demonstrated by Little Company of Mary,” said Sister Judith Ann Duvall, OSF, major superior and chairperson of the board of directors for OSF HealthCare. “As colleagues in this sacred calling of health care ministry, we are honored to carry on the Little Company name and tradition as they join our OSF family.”