Local hospital company University Community Health is considering a merger with Winter Park-based Adventist Health System, both companies have announced.

In a news release, UCH and Adventist said they have signed a letter of intent to explore a potential merger. The letter of intent is not binding. If the two companies combine, it would create the nation's largest Protestant healthcare system, the companies said.

UCH and Adventist joined a partnership in 2007 to build the Wesley Chapel Medical Center, which ultimately led them to consider a merger, the release said.

Based in Tampa, UCH operates University Community Hospital, UCH-Carrollwood and Pepin Heart Hospital in Tampa, Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs and the Long Term Acute Care Hospital in Pasco County.

Adventist Health is affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It operates hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the South, Texas and the Midwest, including 17 in Florida under the Florida Hospital brand, according to its Web site. One local hospital is Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.