Hospitals in Glen Ridge and Westwood will become part of the nation's 2nd-largest chain of for-profit hospitals.
Two North Jersey hospitals affiliated with Hackensack University Medical Center but majority owned by a for-profit company will now become part of a larger for-profit system.
Hospitals in Glen Ridge and Westwood are impacted by a recently announced merger between LHP Hospital Group Inc., of Plano, Texas, and Ardent Health Services of Nashville. Together, the two will form the second-largest chain of for-profit hospitals in the country.
HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley was reopened in 2013 under an agreement between Hackensack-based chain of hospitals and LHP. HackensackMountainside has been under a similar arrangement since 2012.
The two are among the five acute-care hospitals operated by LHP. The others are in Idaho, Florida, and Texas.
The chain they are merging with, Ardent Health Services, will then operate 19 hospitals in six states.
Although the companies' announcement didn't directly announce the impact on employees, it did state, "The transaction is not expected to impact the day-to-day operations of the affiliated hospitals."
The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2017.
Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.