A merger between Cape Regional Health System, owner of Cape May County’s only hospital, and Cooper University Health Care took a step forward with the announcement Tuesday that both sides have signed a “definitive agreement.”
The health care systems announced the planned merger in December. Together, the two hospitals will have a combined revenue of $2.2 billion. The annual revenue at the much larger Cooper system is already listed at $2 billion. The next step will be to obtain regulatory approvals, which hospital officials say will take about a year.
Cooper is based in Camden and is southern New Jersey’s only academic health system and Level I trauma center. Cape Regional Health System has earned the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission and is an integrated health care delivery system serving residents throughout Cape May County.