This morning Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE) will add 200 jobs to Chicago within the next two years, in the critical and growing field of health information technology.

“I am pleased that Merge Healthcare is adding these jobs for Chicagoans in health IT, a growing field for the future,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Additionally, their commitment to place 100 health kiosks around the city will allow Chicagoans to take control of their individual health and get crucial information that will help them live longer and better.”

In addition to the 200 jobs, Merge will provide 100 Vitals Kiosks to be placed throughout the City. Merge Vitals Kiosks are internet-connected health stations where consumers can check their health vitals for free, including weight, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure and heart rate.

“We’re proud to be contributing not only to the economic health of our city with our commitment to bring 200 new jobs to Chicago, but also to the personal health of its residents with the placement of 100 of our Merge Vitals Kiosks throughout the city,” said Jeff Surges, Merge CEO.

Merge Healthcare is a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, with a client base consisting of more than 1,500 hospitals and 6,000 clinics across the country. Merge solutions facilitate the sharing of images to create a more effective and efficient electronic health care experience for patients and physicians. Merge provides enterprise imaging solutions for radiology, cardiology, orthopedics and eye care; a suite of products for clinical trials; software for financial and pre-surgical management, and applications that fuel the largest modality vendors in the world. Merge’s products have been used by health care providers, vendors and researchers worldwide. The company has been creating applications in the health care space for more than 20 years. Merge is headquartered in Chicago, and has a total of 900 employees.

Since taking office as Mayor, Mayor Emanuel has made announcements about jobs from GE Capital, United Airlines, Walgreens, Chase Bank, SeatonCorp, EMC Inc., Allscripts, Ford, Motorola Solutions, and now Merge Healthcare, totaling nearly 7,000 new jobs for Chicagoans.

Mayor Emanuel made the announcement at MergeLive 2011 Client Conference, the company’s annual client conference, which attracts approximately 500 attendees per year.

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