After months of working with governmental regulatory agencies, NYU Langone Medical Center was approved to become an affiliate with the Lutheran Medical Center on Wednesday.

The plans for affiliation were announced by the two hospitals in November, and have since begun collaborating in pediatric care in preparation for the full integration. Lutheran Medical Center, located in southwest Brooklyn, now operates as NYU Lutheran and has been incorporated into the NYU Langone healthcare network. Langone and Lutheran will operate as independent hospitals, but Langone will now have the authority to influence who serves on Lutheran’s board, approve their operating and capital budgets, approve sales or acquisitions of assets and repeal or adopt by-laws.

Lutheran includes a main medical center, a family health center and other points of access for outpatient care, rehabilitation and medical housing. Lutheran medical center also offers residency programs and graduate medical education programs in partnership with NYU’s College of Dentistry and other accredited universities.

Langone spokesperson Lisa Greiner said the new affiliation allows local residents to get higher quality care in a quicker.

“This affiliation paves the way for both institutions to address the changing healthcare environment by providing the standard of care New Yorkers expect and deserve conveniently within their own neighborhoods,” Greiner said. “Brooklyn residents who currently travel to Manhattan for primary and specialty care can now benefit from early and more frequent interventions locally from NYU Lutheran specialists.”

NYU Lutheran also boasts strong cultural competency, offering liaisons for Arabic, Chinese and Orthodox Jewish communities. They also offer special services for Arab, Chinese, Jewish, Russian, Spanish and LGBTQ patients and their families.

In a press release from Langone released Wednesday, Lutheran president and CEO Wendy Goldstein said the affiliation would enable the hospital to continue providing quality service to its patients.

“We are extremely excited to affiliate with the great faculty and staff at NYU Langone,” Goldstein said. “This new chapter for Lutheran is an important step in delivering the highest quality care possible to one of the New York City metropolitan area’s most diverse communities.”

By expanding to an outer borough, the Langone Health System hopes to bring high-quality healthcare to those who would otherwise travel into Manhattan for treatment. Because of the affiliation, Langone can now provide its services to patients located in underserved areas near Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

The affiliation could also open more opportunities for medical students hoping to secure residencies or observations in a hospital with NYU’s name.

LS freshman Victoria Porada said the merging of the two hospitals could be advantageous to NYU students.

“I think that the affiliation between NYU Langone and the Lutheran Medical Center could be really beneficial to both hospitals if done right,” Porada said. “I think that both of the hospital staffs can learn from each other and it will provide NYU students with more medical resources, whether for pre-med, med students or students who are seeking out care.”

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, April 7 print edition. Email [email protected].