Under the agreement, Advanced patients would be served by specialists at Aurora, and Aurora would have access to the primary care and specialty physicians employed through Advanced.

The deal includes plans for a new hospital in Ozaukee County, which would include a 24-hour emergency department, Aurora said in a statement.

The site of the hospital is near Interstate 43 and Highway 60 in Grafton.

Eugene Monroe, M.D., president of Advanced Healthcare, said the alliance will ultimately benefit consumers in the area.

Many of the failures of our countrys health care system can be traced to the fragmented nature of care delivery, he said. If we can coordinate care for our patients, ensuring that they receive the right care at the right time and in the right place, we can improve outcomes and reduce costs.

Advanced Healthcare and Aurora Health Care began discussing a potential alliance last fall.

The boards of directors of the two organizations endorsed an agreement in the spring, and the physician shareholders of Advanced voted this month to approve it, Aurora said.

Under the terms of the agreement, the leadership team at Advanced will remain intact and continue to oversee all of the operations at their clinics.

Advanced Healthcare was formed in 1998 following the merger of Falls Medical Group and Milwaukee Medical Clinic.

The group operates 14 clinics in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.

Aurora operates 13 hospitals and more than 100 clinics in eastern Wisconsin.

The company is building a hospital in the Pabst Farms development in the town of Summit.