Beginning Jan. 1, South Fulton Medical Center will go by a new name, but it will still provide the same level of service — perhaps even better, officials hope.

Atlanta Medical Center in downtown Atlanta is consolidating with the East Point hospital, which will be renamed Atlanta Medical Center — South Campus.

Both hospitals operate under one parent company, Tenet Healthcare Corporation.

The decision to consolidate was born out of fiscal reasoning.

“It’s a difficult environment for any standalone hospital,” Atlanta Medical Center CEO Bill Moore said. “East Point in particular was experiencing very difficult financial times.”

Through the consolidation, expenses have been reduced by combining payrolls and whittling down upper management.

Moore said the partnership will be mutually beneficial for both campuses.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the respective campuses to adopt best practices from each other,” he said.

For example, Atlanta Medical Center has stroke intervention capability, which Moore said it is one of only three other hospitals in metro Atlanta offering such programs.

South Fulton patients can be assessed for the program and be transferred to Atlanta Medical’s north campus, whereas before, that would be much more difficult.

In preparation for the consolidation, both hospitals are streamlining their operating systems and changing signage. Moore said from the outside, the changes will hardly be noticeable to the naked eye.

“We’re reaching out to the community to explain what’s going on and clarify that the hospital is in no way closing its doors,” he said.

Together, both hospitals will have 798 licensed beds, employ 1,700 full time workers, but have nearly 3,000 on payroll for a combined payroll of $156 million.