The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society and Sanford Health cleared government reviews without objection, the companies announced on Friday, marking another step in the merger between the non-profit senior care and hospital heavyweights.

The regulatory review included the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office, the South Dakota Attorney General’s office, and an anti-trust review under a Hart-Scott-Rodino Act filing with the Federal Trade Commission.

“For several months we’ve talked about the advantages of bringing Society professionals together with the health care experts at Sanford Health,” David Horazdovsky, president and CEO of the Good Samaritan Society, said in a statement announcing the review results. “This clears a major hurdle in advancing the care for those we serve.”

Now that the review is complete, the two organizations — both of which are based in Sioux Falls, S.D. — can proceed with plans to combine. The two organizations signed an affiliation agreement in June after Good Samaritan’s member base approved restated articles of incorporation.

Good Samaritan has more than 200 locations across the U.S, with about 80 skilled nursing facilities, making it one of the largest non-profit senior care providers in the country. Sanford, a not-for-profit hospital system, has 44 hospitals and almost 300 clinics in nine states and four countries.

The original goal was to combine the two organizations by the start of 2019, but with the review finished, leaders of both organizations think the combination could be expedited; the new goal is to combine on November 1.

Once the deal closes, the new company will operate as Good Samaritan Society of Sanford Health. Good Samaritan employees will be employed by a separate entity under the Sanford umbrella, Kelby Krabbenhoft, president and CEO of Sanford, said at the time of the affiliation agreement.

“We feel strongly that this visionary plan will be modeled throughout the United States to offer a continuum of care throughout one’s life,” Krabbenhoft said in the statement issued Friday. “Having no objections during the government’s regulatory review confirms our beliefs. We’re excited to move forward.”

Written by Maggie Flynn