A planned merger between Gainesville-based healthcare providers Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) and Longstreet Clinic has resumed.
NGHS officials confirmed Wednesday afternoon, December 3, that work to integrate Longstreet Clinic with the health system had resumed, with a targeted completion of early 2026.
“We’re working together to make the transition as smooth as possible for patients and staff,” NGHS officials said in a statement Wednesday.
The planned merger was first announced in April of this year, but was put on pause by NGHS in August after officials there said they learned that an unspecified number of Longstreet physicians were under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). That investigation reportedly centered around Longstreet neurosurgeon Dr. Betsy Grunch.
While the exact details of the investigation were not publicly released by either the DOJ or Grunch’s attorneys, Longstreet would maintain Grunch’s employment, saying in a statement that the inquiry by the DOJ did not “affect her ability to see patients or practice medicine in the clinic.”
NGHS officials declined to comment on when the merger officially resumed.
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