TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The University of Kansas Health System says it will form a partnership with Ardent Health Services to take over the struggling St. Francis hospital in Topeka.
 
 The deal announced on Thursday will keep St. Francis Health open and preserve most of the 1,600 jobs at St. Francis, the health system said in a joint news release issued with Nashville-based Ardent. The partnership also will provide the hospital with $50 million in capital during the first year.
 
The 378-bed hospital is currently owned by Denver-based SCL Health, a nonprofit formerly known as the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.
 
SCL Health has been looking for a buyer for St. Francis since May 2016. It said last month it would stop operating the hospital this summer.