The Cleveland Clinic and Akron General Health System have taken the initial step toward a merger, signing a letter of intent to make the Clinic a minority owner of the Akron health system, the two organizations said Monday. Last year, the Clinic and Nashville-based for profit healthcare giant Community Health Systems, or CHS, entered into a similar agreement that would have made CHS the majority owner of Akron General. Akron General pulled the plug on that deal in January, however, after the Clinic and CHS were unable to come to an agreement about their proposed relationship.
