State Approves Northside, Gwinnett Hospital Merger

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- Northside Hospital has been given the green light to merge with Gwinnett Health System. That's according to a statement on the company's website, which said the office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr approved the proposed merger with the company that serves as the parent of Gwinnett Medical Center.

"We applaud the due diligence by the attorney general and his staff and are pleased that they see the public benefit of this important health care venture," Northside Hospital said on the website set up to provide details on the proposal. "We are grateful for all of the support we’ve received from the community, our employees, physicians and partners throughout this process and are excited to move forward with final regulatory reviews."

Northside Hospital spokesperson Katherine Watson said the company does not have any additional comments on the approval at this time.

Northside and Gwinnett in 2015 announced that they had signed a letter of intent to begin discussions to combine their operations and formally announced an agreement on their plans earlier this year.

Anchored by Northside Hospital in Sandy Springs and Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, the new health system also will include hospitals in Canton, Cumming and Duluth, as well as cancer treatment centers, imaging centers, urgent care centers and other outpatient locations throughout the state.

The five-hospital Northside-Gwinnett combined system could be operational in early 2018. Altogether, the combined system will have 1,479 beds, nearly 21,000 employees and 3,500 physicians on staff, Northside Hospital previously said.

Photo: Northside Hospital Cherokee, which opened its replacement Canton hospital in May 2017. Credit: Northside Hospital