Schuylkill County commissioners on Wednesday agreed to apply for a $2 million grant to help Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill reconfigure its two merged medical centers.

The application is just a formality; Lehigh Valley is assured of the money, said county Administrator Gary R. Bender.The county submitted the application for the noncompetitive grant on the hospital's behalf."They received $2 million in funding. Only municipalities can apply (for the grants)," he said.A consultant for the hospital will do of most of the administrative work, Bender said.The money will help offset a $12.8 million renovation project that includes an obstetric/labor and delivery area and a pediatrics section at the East Norwegian Street building.Construction will cost about $9 million of the total expense.The grant, awarded through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, provides funding for regional, economic, cultural, civic and historical improvement projects.Lehigh Valley-Schuylkill is the merged Lehigh Valley Health Network and Schuylkill Health System, the former Good Samaritan and Pottsville hospitals, which joined in 2008.Lehigh Valley partnered with the Schuylkill Health System in April 2016.The hospitals are now called Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill East Norwegian Street, and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill South Jackson Street.