Confirming speculation involving a merger of some of the borough's largest healthcare providers, the company running Brooklyn Hospital Center applied for a grant allowing for the melding of three area institutions.

The hospital announced Friday that it took a huge step forward in plans to consolidate operations at the Fort Greene facility with two others, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and Interfaith Medical Center.

"This proposal will have a transformative impact on the health of Brooklyn’s residents, while creating a new, financially sustainable healthcare delivery model," said Dr. Richard Becker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Hospital.

The grant would allow for a temporary increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates while the hospitals merge management and restructure operations at the three hospitals.

However, one of the medical centers slated to lose its independence in the deal may be having second thoughts.

Wyckoff interim president and CEO Ramon Rodriguez told Crain's New York Business on Monday that he was surprised and shocked his hospital was included in Brooklyn Hospital's application for $450 million in state funds.

Despite Wyckoff's stated reluctance to follow through with the consolidation, it looks like it's full steam ahead for Brooklyn Hospital, which has had its own share of adversity over the years.

Run by the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, the 166-year-old hospital emerged from bankruptcy protection in September 2007.

Last September, Brooklyn Hospital narrowly averted a nurses' strike over wages and benefits.