Rush University System for Health

Legal name: Rush System for Health

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364046278
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
(312) 947-4725
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health - General and Rehabilitative N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$283,154,871
Expenses
$283,154,871
Assets
$82,018,236
Liabilities
$83,678,845

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John Diederich MA MBA FACHE (President & Chief Executive Officer, RCMC)
  • Omar B Lateef DO (President & Chief Executive Officer, RUSH)
  • Robert S D Higgins MD MSHA (President & Chief Academic Officer, Rush University (start 11/24))

Highest reported compensation

  • Omar B Lateef DO (President & Chief Executive Officer, RUSH): $4,819,778 total reported compensation
  • Matt Walsh MHA (Chief Operating Officer, RUSH): $1,953,598 total reported compensation
  • Patricia S O'Neil MAE (Chief Financial Officer, RUSH): $1,603,687 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Rush brings together the brightest minds in health care, research and education. Driven by discovery, innovation and a deep responsibility for the health of our communities, Rush is a national leader in outstanding patient care, education, research, community partnerships and empowering a new generation of health care providers.

What it reported doing in 2024

Rush University System for Health (RUSH) is the sole-corporate member of Rush University Medical Center (RUMC), Rush Oak Park Hospital (ROPH), and Rush Copley Medical Center, Inc. (RCMC), holding certain Reserved Powers over RUMC, ROPH, and RCMC to ensure a uniform vision and strategy across the Rush System, and is the ultimate parent entity for the Rush System. RUSH provides for the contract administration, governance, and analysis of the Employee Health Benefits program for the Rush System. RUSH also provides system support services which include decision support, quality analytics, knowledge management, Internal Audit, System Strategic Planning, and Digital and Information Services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.02; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.4% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 33.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.1% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $283.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $4.8M · 42 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $32.5M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 16 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.