Aurora Health Care

Legal name: Aurora Health Care Inc Group Return

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611649250
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4142991576
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,412,902,082
Expenses
$6,926,513,737
Assets
$7,995,349,893
Liabilities
$672,863,892

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

102 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DIA NICHOLS (DIRECTOR, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, PRESIDENT, ASST SEC.)
  • JEFFREY BAHR (DIRECTOR, CHAIR, PRESIDENT, ASST SECRETARY)
  • DENISE KEEFE (DIRECTOR, CHAIRPERSON, PRESIDENT)
  • JACOB BIDWELL (DIRECTOR, CHAIRPERSON, PRESIDENT)
  • DENNIS POTTS (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT, ASST SEC)
  • GABRIELLE FINLEY-HAZLE (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM SANTULLI (DIRECTOR): $7,866,221 total reported compensation
  • DOMINIC NAKIS (FORMER DIRECTOR/OFFICER): $4,607,851 total reported compensation
  • WALTER JACOBSEN (PHYSICIAN SURGERY NEUROLOGY): $4,086,949 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Aurora Health Care is an integrated, not-for-profit health care provider serving communities across eastern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and Michigan, working to improve community health in measurable ways. Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are part of a safety-net system that makes health care accessible and affordable for low-income residents. Together with government health agencies and other health systems in the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership (MHCP), Aurora has helped fund four FQHCs in Milwaukee as well as the Kenosha Community Health Center, Lakeshore Community Clinic in Sheboygan and the Community Clinics of Manitowoc County. We’ve also launched a toll-free Affordable Care Act enrollment helpline (877-732-6334) and expanded our support services to help people enroll in Medicaid and other government programs. Classes and events Health and wellness go beyond...

What it reported doing in 2024

The organizations included in this group return provide health promotion, diagnosis and treatment services to the residents of eastern Wisconsin. Such services include cardiology, cancer treatment, hyperbaric medicine, neuroscience, 24-hour emergency care, general surgery, orthopaedics, women's health and obstetrics, digestive diseases, geriatric services, physical rehabilitation, mental health, substance abuse, ambulatory care, home health care, home hospice care, iv therapy and pharmaceuticals, respiratory therapy, medical equipment on a per-use basis, and medical education and teaching oversight.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93%; rating input score 93; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.6%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.15; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 82.4% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 53 of 57 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.1B in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $7.9M · 102 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $103.4M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 57 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 28 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.