December 15th 2022

Cooper University Health Care and Cape Regional Health System in Cape May Court House, N.J., have signed a letter of intent to merge into a two-hospital system with revenue exceeding $2.2 billion a year.

"As it becomes more and more challenging for smaller health systems to operate independently, merging with Cooper made the most sense as we share the same commitment to the communities we serve and to providing the highest quality care to our patients," Garry Gilbert, chair of Cape Regional's board of trustees, said in a Dec. 14 news release. 

Once combined, the health system offer more than 10,000 employees, 900 employed physicians in three physician groups, 45 advanced practice providers, 900 licensed beds, over 130 ambulatory locations and six urgent care centers. 

Cooper and Cape Regional hope to sign a definitive agreement in March 2023.  Then, they plan to seek regulatory approval, which could take until the first quarter of 2024.

In November, S&P Global Ratings raised Cooper's credit rating from "BBB+" to "A-", the highest rating in the system's 135-year history.