Kittanning, Pa.-based Armstrong County Memorial Hospital has signed a definitive agreement with the Pennsylvania Mountains Care Network, a healthcare network.
The agreement comes after a letter of intent was signed last October between the two parties.
PMCN comprises Punxsutawney (Pa.) Area Hospital and Indiana (Pa.) Regional Medical Center. Once regulatory and third-party approvals take place, Armstrong County Memorial Hospital will also be part of the network.
"This affiliation will help to preserve, enhance, and provide quality healthcare for patients in the multicounty service area for all three hospitals," according to a March 6 news release. "It will also create synergies, cost-efficiencies, and sustainability for the well-run organizations."
Once the agreement is closed, leaders from all three hospitals under PMCN will sit on its board, along with a combined executive management team that will represent the rural communities' common interests.
"The hospitals will retain their local identities and operate as three separate nonprofit corporations, with three separately licensed community hospitals," the release said.
Each hospital will maintain its healthcare employees, volunteers and community connections, but there will be some sharing of human resources.
Stephen Wolfe, president and CEO of IRMC, will also serve as PMCN's president and CEO, the release said.