(Providence, RI) -- An agreement is being announced for Brown University to keep its affiliation with Care New England, as the hospital system is coming close to being acquired by Boston-based Partners Health. The three entities have signed a memorandum of understanding following a definitive agreement to formalize the planned Partners purchase of CNE in May. The agreement establishes Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School as the primary academic research and teaching institution of record for Partners-CNE in Rhode Island. Partners' primary university affiliation is with Harvard Medical School.