Health Care Access and Heartland Community Health Center, both safety-net facilities in Lawrence, Kan., signed a nonbinding letter of intent to merge, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.
Lawrence (Kan.) Memorial Hospital President and CEO Russ Johnson reportedly shared news of the decision during a board of trustees meeting Wednesday. Heartland Community is a federally-qualified health center safety-net partner of LMH.
Mr. Johnson said during the meeting Heartland Community approached the hospital about a "one-time contribution to offset the costs of the potential merger, as well as a $250,000 operational loan for renovations to [its] existing facilities," according to the report.
LMH officials expect the safety-net organizations' integration will be effective Jan. 1.
Neither Health Care Access nor Heartland Community Health Center provided the Journal-World with a specific timeline for the merger, but said the process would "take a number of months," according to the report.