Catholic Health Initiatives would exit Maryland under a deal to sell St. Joseph Medical Center to the University of Maryland Medical System.

The deal must be approved by the Federal Trade Commission, the Archdiocese of Baltimore and regulatory agencies, said Mary Lynn Carver, a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical System, which will acquire the assets under a newly created not-for-profit, the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. Carver said the University of Maryland Medical System has agreed to maintain the hospital's Catholic identity.

Catholic Health Initiatives, which operates 81 hospitals in 18 states, and the University of Maryland Medical System are seeking to close the deal Dec. 1.

Carver said the University of Maryland Medical System would expand its geographic reach with the acquisition. She declined to disclose terms of the deal, which was announced in March.

Catholic Health Initiatives moved to divest the hospital because it lacked the economy of scale and network presence in Maryland needed to prepare for changes such as accountable care organizations or population health management under healthcare reform, a spokesman said.

UMMS board member Francis Kelly was named board chairman of the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. The hospital's existing board chairman, Edward Gilliss, was named as vice chairman of the newly formed not-for-profit. UMMS or the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center will employ the hospital's approximately 2,000 employees after the deal closes, Carver said.