As officials from Mohawk Valley Health System continue their efforts to form one state-of-the-art healthcare facility, they’re also combining other services.

Hospital officials are making transitions to have all of their foundations under one umbrella. All three Utica hospitals merged to form the Mohawk Valley Health System about four years ago, and while most of the rollout has been completed, the St. Elizabeth Medical Center Foundation and the Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare Foundation remained separate.

Hospital officials say that will soon change, as MVHS is filing a certificate of need with the state Department of Health to from one foundation board.

"We want to make sure that your gift is going exactly where you want it, and as we move forward that's going to continue to stay the same,” said John Forbes, vice president of philanthropy for MVHS. “As we come together as one, that's to help make things easier, but at the end of the day, your gift goes where you want it to go."

"Before we had two separate boards at St. Elizabeth Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke’s, we roughly had about 25 members,” said Terry Mielnicki, MVHS Foundation president. “Now since we’ve formulated the Mohawk Valley Health System Foundation, we have approximately 15 board members at this time."

MVHS hopes to hear back from the Department of Health about the certificate of need for the new foundation by the end of the year.