 One of the last remaining independent hospitals in the garden state is set to merge with one of the two largest health care systems in New Jersey. And that could mean big changes for the hospital in Englewood. Fios ones Steven Maluski is in Englewood for us this afternoon with the details. For 130 years Englewood Health has served Bergen County as an independent hospital. Now it will merge with Hackensack Meridian Health. The merger agreement includes a $400 million commitment by Hackensack Meridian to invest in new operating rooms, expanded cardiac facilities and outpatient sites for Englewood physicians. Hackensack Meridian has also agreed to take on Englewood's outstanding debt of $182 million. We believe that this merger will transform health care in northern New Jersey. We're going to expand access to care. We're going to enhance the quality programs that already exist up here and we're going to make health care more affordable for the residents of New Jersey. Englewood Health currently employs 3,400 people. None are expected to be laid off as a result of the merger. Englewood Health CEO Warren Geller says this deal is all about the communities they serve. We're going to push access to care out into the communities that we serve. Our friends, our neighbors, our families are going to receive the highest level of care close to home. This merger follows a period of growth for Hackensack Meridian. Last month, it announced a partnership with St. Joseph's Health, whose facilities are in Patterson and Wayne. A year ago, Hackensack Meridian merged with the Carrier Clinic, a statewide provider of mental health and addiction treatment. The merger was unanimously approved by Englewood's Board of Trustees. The agreement must be reviewed by the State Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission, a process expected to take about a year. Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett tells us the goal is to expand care both inside and outside the medical facilities. More and more health care is being provided outside the four walls of the hospital. So we will be expanding together the ambulatory care network because people want care closer to home. They want convenient care. They want urgent care. They want behavioral health care services closer to home. After the merger, Englewood will be known as the Hackensack Meridian Health Englewood University Medical Center. In Englewood, Stephen Maluski, Fios 1 News.