FREMONT — ProMedica and Memorial Hospital have taken a step toward adding the Fremont facility to the health-care organization.

The deal was announced Friday.

Andy Smith, a Memorial spokesman, declined to comment beyond a statement released by officials of the hospital, which is licensed for up to 186 beds.

As of December, Memorial had 550 employees and more than 180 doctors on its staff. The hospital opened in 1918. “Memorial Hospital enters into this relationship in strong financial health,” Wes Oswald, interim chief executive officer of Memorial, said in the statement. “We have a long history in our community, and this relationship will allow us to continue to build on that history.”

The deal won’t be finalized until it is reviewed by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, a process Mr. Smith said probably would take 60 to 90 days.

ProMedica isn’t releasing terms of the deal because negotiations are ongoing, spokesman Tedra White said. She said the length of the deal and whether it changes the hospital’s structure would be released later. “At this point, it’s too premature to get into too many details because a lot of them aren’t finalized,” she said.

Its Web site says ProMedica has 11 hospitals that serve 27 counties.

Fremont is in Sandusky County, 33 miles southeast of Toledo.

Memorial’s only Fremont competitor, Physician’s Choice Hospital LLC, closed in March. Memorial signed a lease for the property and said it would explore opportunities for the property.

— Kris Turner

First Published June 2, 2012, 4:30 a.m.