After more than 18 months since signaling plans to combine, Boston Children's Hospital and Brighton, Mass.-based Franciscan Children's said they will close on an affiliation agreement July 1.
The affiliation will officially be under Boston Children's parent, Children's Medical Center Corp.
The two hospitals plan to invest more than $500 million to modernize Franciscan's campus, the report said. The number of inpatient beds available will increase from 98 to 127, and the two systems will work to almost double behavioral health bed capacity.
"We are in the midst of a children's mental health crisis, and it's clear our system simply isn't working for children and families," Boston Children's Hospital President and CEO Kevin Churchwell, MD, said in a statement. "And we'll do it while breaking down barriers caused by systemic racism and ensuring that every child has access to care regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender or zip code."