Albany-area hospitals OK'd for merger

The long engagement is almost over and the wedding is near. Three health care systems in Albany and Troy said their organizations will join by the end of summer. After three years of talking about it, the official merger of St. Peter's Health Care Services, Northeast Health and Seton Health/St. Mary's Hospital can finally move forward after the Federal Trade Commission gave the green light. "The real beneficiaries of this are the citizens," said Steven Boyle, president of St. Peter's. "The people of this region will, we believe, benefit from a more integrated health system, which will provide high-quality access at a low cost." The new system, which still doesn't have a name, merges four hospitals, nearly 12,000 employees and 120 locations including nursing homes, hospice, home healthcare and doctors' offices. Leaders of the organizations said they will make every effort to preserve jobs, but many workers will have new duties.