by Patch Staff

OLD FOURTH WARD — The Atlanta Medical Center and South Fulton Medical Center completed their planned merger on Jan. 1.

The South Fulton Medical Center, which is in East Point, is now the Atlanta Medical Center – South Campus.

The merged entity, a unit of Tenet Healthcare Corp., creates Georgia's second-largest hospital with 762 beds.

“Both of these hospitals have a long history of serving our communities,” William T. Moore, Atlanta Medical Center's president and chief execute said in a statement. “We are pleased to provide even greater service to our patients by combining our strengths, providing quality health care to a larger region and offering a choice of location.”

The consolidation follows a trend in the local hospital industry and nationally as medical facilities look for greater marketshare and to leverage the financial strength that comes with being larger.

The two hospitals explored ways to ensure long-term stability and the Georgia Department of Community Health issued a licensing permit on Dec. 31, 2012.