Lifespan's Babineau and CNE's Fanale Care New England and Lifespan have announced that they have signed a merger agreement. It would combine Lifespan’s Rhode Island, Miriam, Hasbro, Newport and Bradley Hospitals, and Care New England’s Women & Infants, Kent, and Butler Hospitals — with Brown’s leading research and medical education from The Warren Alpert Medical School. This will create according to the companies "an integrated academic health system (AHS) that has the full array of complementary medical specialties required for excellence in health care, biomedical research to remain on the leading edge of treatment and therapies, and the collaboration required to enable medical practitioners to effectively and efficiently provide health care to the community."GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST