The signed deal will undergo regulatory review by the state's Office of the Attorney General, New Jersey Department of Health and the Federal Trade Commission before the merger is finalized.

"As a healthcare system, we need to continuously evolve in order to provide our community with increased access to high-quality care and more specialties and services, close to home," said Warren Geller, president and CEO of Englewood Health. "This decision is about building the most efficient, most effective health system possible to benefit the communities we serve."

Among the benefits of the merger deal will be an expanded affiliation with Hackensack Meridian's medical school that will enable Englewood to become a tertiary academic hub in the region. In addition, Englewood Health will benefit by Hackensack Meridian Health's partnerships with other institutions, such as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Carrier Clinic, New Jersey's largest behavioral health provider.

"We welcome Englewood Health with open arms," said Gordon Litwin, Esq., chair of the Hackensack Meridian Health Board of Trustees. "This is an exciting time for health care in New Jersey and beyond. Hackensack Meridian Health is leading the way in advancing the delivery of health care through groundbreaking partnerships and innovation – truly redesigning how care is delivered. We look forward to taking the next steps to make this merger a reality."

"Englewood Health has deep roots in our community, having been here for more than a century, and we will continue to do everything possible to better serve our community," said Thomas C. Senter, Esq., chairman of the Board of Trustees at Englewood Health. "Joining Hackensack Meridian Health will help us to continue to build greater access to care in our region and throughout New Jersey."

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center will become the 13th acute care hospital under the Hackensack Meridian Health banner, according to a report in NJ Advance Media.

Englewood Health is one of New Jersey's leading hospitals and healthcare networks and is composed of Englewood Hospital, the Englewood Health Physician Network, and the Englewood Health Foundation.

The hospital, founded in 1890, consistently earns high marks for clinical excellence and patient safety. It is among the top 10% of hospitals in the nation to earn the 2019 Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award. The hospital is also nationally recognized for nursing excellence, earning a fourth consecutive designation by the Magnet Recognition Program® in 2016. Areas of clinical excellence include cardiac surgery and cardiac care, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, spine surgery, vascular surgery, and women's health, as well as bloodless medicine and surgery. The hospital offers an internal medicine residency program affiliated with Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, a vascular surgery fellowship, pharmacy residency program, and a radiography training program. Englewood also serves as a training site for surgery, pathology, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, critical care medicine, and other medical and surgical subspecialties.