MaineHealth finished combining the hospital licenses of Maine Medical Center Portland and Southern Maine Health Care on June 1.

Three hospitals are now combined into one “multi-campus” entity, which includes Maine Med, and hospitals in Biddeford and Sanford. The Biddeford and Sanford hospitals are renamed from Southern Maine Health Care to Maine Medical Center Biddeford and Maine Medical Center Sanford.

By combining, the hospitals can be more efficient, share resources, clinical expertise as well as “providing a more consistent patient experience,” according to a MaineHealth news release.

“Bringing Maine Medical Center and Southern Maine Health Care together allows our care team to serve patients more effectively and efficiently. Right now, timely access to inpatient health services is a challenge and we have taken this important action to help address that,” said Britt Crewse, president of MaineHealth’s Southern Region, in a statement.

MaineHealth is the parent organization of nine hospitals and a large network of primary care and specialized health services. Maine Medical Center Portland is the largest hospital in Maine.