GREEN BAY, Wis. — Gundersen Health System and Bellin Health are working to complete a merger that would create one of the largest health care providers in Wisconsin.

Together, Bellin and Gundersen would employ more than 14,000 people, operating 11 hospitals and more than 100 clinics, including primary care and other services in Iron Mountain. If the agreement proceeds, the service area would span western and northeastern Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula, southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa.

Gundersen employs 9,000 people and Bellin 5,000.

Leaders of the organizations said they are “very optimistic” about the status of discussions and expect to finalize terms in the coming weeks, after which the merger will be subject to regulators’ review, the Green Bay Press-Gazette reported.

“As health systems, our missions, visions and values complement each other, and the people and communities we serve are at the core of the care and service we provide,” said Bellin Health President and CEO Chris Woleske. “Joining together would allow us to maintain and enhance the top-quality care to which our patients and communities are accustomed — and ensure that care endures for another 100 years and beyond.”

Dr. Scott Rathgaber, Gundersen CEO, said the merger was not driven by a pressing need, but by an opportunity to share expertise and the cost of investing in new medical equipment and telehealth technology.

“We are two not-for-profit health systems that take what we earn and re-invest those dollars back into our communities and into patient care,” Rathgaber said. “Our health systems have been successfully fulfilling our missions, but we know that we will thrive and best serve our patients and communities by finding partners with shared missions and strategic visions.”

Woleske said patients should see little change as a result of the merger. The organizations don’t plan to change their names right now, and patients will continue to visit the same locations and physicians as before.

Woleske told the Press-Gazette the organizations plan to meet with patients, stakeholders, and communities in the future to determine whether to shift to a single name.

The merger would maintain the systems’ current headquarters in both Green Bay and La Crosse and have a balanced leadership structure that places each of the two top positions — CEO and board chair — in different regions to ensure shared decision-making and equal representation. Rathgaber would serve as system CEO. The chair of the newly created board would be John Dykema, currently chair of the Bellin Health Board of Directors, residing in northeast Wisconsin.

Woleske would serve as system executive vice president and regional president of the northern counties.

In May 2018, Bellin withdrew an offer to acquire Dickinson County Healthcare System. Four months ago, DCH became part of Wisconsin-based Marshfield Clinic Health System, which has more than 12,000 employees.