On Wednesday morning, at 12:01 a.m., Montefiore Medical Center officially acquired the bankrupt Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in the Wakefield section of the Bronx. It will be renamed the Montefiore North Division.

Later that day, Montefiore officials held a ceremony for media and its new employees, many of whom said they thought the change would be positive.

"it’s good," said long-time OLM staffer Catherine McVicar. "I think it will be an asset."

There will be no immediate changes in service or patient care for Montefiore’s nearly 180,000 health plan members and two million Bronx and Westchester County residents, according to a Montefiore statement.

Montefiore had been in the process of acquiring Our Lady of Mercy for the past four years, said Steven Safyer, MD, Montefiore’s president, in a statement. Had the Medical Center closed, 150,000 neighborhood residents would have been stranded without a nearby healthcare institution, he added.

With the acquisition, Montefiore adds seven operating rooms, 369 inpatient beds, more than 500 physicians and 2,500 employees. It also expands Montefiore’s community-based care and adds experts to its centers of excellence and in fields such as geriatrics, cancer, psychiatry, maternal and child health.

“We plan on spending at least $100 million over the next five years to stabilize and modernize the institution,” Safyer said. “The North Division will be an integral part of Montefiore’s regional, full-service healthcare and delivery system.”

Safyer said they were no plans to downsize the hospitals staff. "I’m confident we can turn this thing around," he said.

Congressman Eliot Engel said he worked closely with U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Charles Rangel to keep the hospital open.

“With Montefiore, the people of the Bronx and lower Westchester will continue to get medical care of the highest order,” Engel said in a statement.

The North Division is located on East 233rd Street in the Wakefield and Williamsbridge sections of the Bronx.

Ed. note: This story was updated from the print version with additional reporting by Alex Kratz. Mosholu Preservation Corporation, the publisher of the Norwood News, is a not-for-profit support corporation of Montefiore Medical Center.