After years of work, Northside Hospital and Gwinnett Health System, which is over Gwinnett Medical Center, has announced a merger of the two systems that will go into effect this summer.

The systems announced the merger on Tuesday after a merger agreement was approved by the state attorney general’s office in November 2017 and the Federal Trade Commission completed a review of the merge and gave approval. The combined system is set to be in operation by this summer.

“We are excited to move forward on the merging of our two health systems,” said Bob Quattrocchi, president and CEO of Northside in a news release. “Leaders from both systems are already meeting to develop a comprehensive integration plan that honors our employees and physicians. This plan ensures that our patients continue to receive quality health care with no disruption of service.”

The combined system will have more than 1,600 inpatient beds, over 250 outpatient locations, 21,000 employees and 3,500 physicians and five hospitals in Sandy Springs, Lawrenceville, Cumming, Canton and Duluth.

The nonprofit system will operate additional care sites for cancer treatment, imaging, surgical, urgent care and other outpatient centers.

“Through the merged entity, Gwinnett County will continue to have access to world-class medical treatment,” said Philip Wolfe, president and CEO of Gwinnett Health System, in the release. “Health care is a dynamic industry that requires complex technology, highly-skilled medical professionals and exceptional leadership. I’m confident the merger will help sustain our ability to offer leading-edge, compassionate and effective health care close to home for many years to come.”

All Northside and Gwinnett Health System employees will continue their employment after the merger, according to officials, and they expect the new system to create more job opportunities.

The name and branding of the new system will be decided before the merger is finalized, according to officials, while the systems “will focus on finalizing patient, operational and business functions.”

According to information from the new system, the Northside and Gwinnett “have common goals that represent critical building blocks for a combined health care system: to ensure the continued enhancement of quality care; to build a strong and aligned primary care network; to maintain strong financial performance; to innovate and improve processes; to optimize technology; and to provide an adaptive culture.

The merger is also intended to “create mutually beneficial objectives and outcomes” as Gwinnett is known for cardiovascular care, sports medicine and post-acute care and Northside is known for cancer care, women’s health and specialized surgical care.

More information and regular updates about the merger are available at NorthsideGwinnett.com