The Gwinnett Medical Center's bid for the county's first open-heart program now has a partner.

St. Joseph's Hospital will help the Lawrenceville hospital operate its cardiac services program, pending approval from the Georgia Department of Community Health, according to a GMC news release.

"Collaboration with Saint Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta means that a nationally recognized leader in the provision of open heart surgery and other cardiovascular services will assist Gwinnett Medical Center as we develop similar programs and services here in Gwinnett," GMC president and CEO Phil Wolfe said in a statement.

GMC and St. Joseph's, which already had a working relationship, will jointly own and manage the newly created Gwinnett Cardiovascular Services. St. Joseph's doctors will offer consultation, training and support to Gwinnett Medical Center. St. Joseph's president and CEO Kirk Wilson said the collaboration made sense both financially and in terms of health care quality.

GMC applied to the state community health department in January for permission to start a cardiac services program. According to the hospital, Gwinnett is the most populous county in the country without an open-heart surgery program and has received wide support for starting one.

Wolfe said in January that "lives will be lost" if the application is not approved. An answer is expected in June. Emory Eastside Medical Center in Snellville also had interest in establishing an open-heart surgery center but decided against it in late January.

GMC spokeswoman Adrienne Hollis said in an e-mail that, pending approval, the hospital has a goal of opening in September 2011. The agreement with St. Joseph's will run for 10 years.

The hospital is confident in its application and "hopeful" that it will be approved, according to Hollis.

The application faces opposition. Piedmont Hospital spokeswoman Diana Lewis said Piedmont has concerns about the dilution of the talent pool for cardiac and open-heart surgery nurses and medical technicians if GMC's program is approved.

"The more programs we have in the city, the less people there are to help keep the quality high," Lewis said.

Hollis responded that Gwinnett's cardiac services needs are growing and that more medical employees will be required, either at GMC or another facility, to meet the demand.

"Locating the staff and services in Gwinnett County will improve quality and access to timely care for improved outcomes," Hollis wrote.

The nearest open-heart surgery facilities are at St. Joseph's in Sandy Springs and Piedmont in Atlanta.