Care New England, a three-hospital system based in Providence, R.I., and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island said they have entered into partnership discussions.

Memorial Hospital, a 159-bed hospital in Pawtucket, began a search for partnership opportunities more than a year ago, according to a news release. The organizations said the partnership will require regulatory approval.

“When we looked at our vision of the future and Care New England's vision of the future, we saw that the two cultures of the institutions fit very strongly,” said Arthur DeBlois, Memorial Hospital's acting president and CEO, in the news release. “We took that into consideration when coming to a decision about accepting Care New England's proposal to enter partnership discussions.”

Memorial Hospital is one of six standalone not-for-profit hospitals in the Rhode Island hospital market.

Earlier this month, the state's longstanding Hospital Conversions Act was amended in an effort to streamline the hospital conversion process and allow for-profit hospitals to acquire more than one hospital in Rhode Island every three years.

Steward Health Care System is expected to close its acquisition of Landmark Medical Center, a 133-bed hospital in Woonsocket, in late July.

Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, a 252-bed hospital in New London, Conn., was granted stalking-horse status this month in its bid to acquire the 100-bed Westerly Hospital, which entered receivership last year. The hospital's court-appointed special master said in an e-mail last week that final bids for the hospital are due July 30.