Lake Health, a Concord, Ohio-based health system with three hospitals, is joining Cleveland-based University Hospitals, the organizations said Dec. 17.
If approved, the deal will make University Hospitals a 22-hospital system. In addition to hospitals, Lake Health also has centers for emergency, lab, imaging, cancer and physical therapy services.
University Hospitals said it will honor existing affiliations with Lake Health and its employed and independent physicians, should the deal receive regulatory approval. Lake Health's staff would eventually become University Hospitals employees.
University Hospitals said the deal will make advanced healthcare services, including new technologies and clinical trials, more accessible and convenient for patients in Ohio's Lake County. The county is northeast of Cleveland.
Lake Health started exploring strategic partnership options in early 2020 and landed on University Hospitals, the system said in a news release. The boards of University Hospitals and Lake Health approved the agreement Dec. 16.