Swedish and Providence ‘join forces’ to form new health care non-profit

Swedish Health Services, which has a campus on Cherry Hill, has “combined forces” with Providence Health & Services, a Catholic-affiliated health care organization based in Redmond with services throughout the region.

Under the agreement, both Providence and Swedish will retain their names. Providence would retain its Catholic affiliation while Swedish remains non-religious. All facilities for both organizations are expected to remain.

The new arrangement will improve the care and affordability of care, Providence and Swedish claim in their press release.

From Swedish and Providence:

Officials from locally based Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services today announced plans to form an innovative affiliation that will improve health-care quality, access and affordability for the residents of Western Washington. This unique affiliation will allow both organizations, which have each served the Puget Sound area for more than 100 years, to collaborate to better deliver health care to the region while at the same time maintaining their individual identities and heritage.

Under the proposed plan, the two organizations will form a new not-for-profit health-care system that will include all of Swedish’s operations in King, Snohomish and Kittitas Counties and all of Providence’s operations in King, Snohomish, Thurston and Lewis Counties. Providence will keep the Providence name and its Catholic identity, while Swedish will keep the Swedish name and remain a non-religious organization.

Here’s the full press release announcing the deal:

10 6 11 WWHS News Release

9 thoughts on “Swedish and Providence ‘join forces’ to form new health care non-profit

  1. For better or for worse, Swedish is currently gobbling up so many different health care companies in the pacific northwest. This is the only one that has really made it to the public eye (that and maybe Stevens Hospital in Edmonds) because it is so big, but lots of other companies are being gobbled up by this growing giant hospital at a very fast rate.

  2. Is this not the same Providence that used to be at the Swedish Cherry Hill location? Or is it a different Providence?

  3. Not the same prov. That used to be a Providence campus but Swedish bought that one too. This more recent Providence purchase is a much larger scale deal. Providence won’t change its name but it will be merged with Swedish behind the scenes.

  4. I don’t see a problem with it. Swedish generally has a good reputation for providing quality healthcare. Anything that can help rein in costs is a good thing, because DC sure isn’t helping. It doesn’t sound like anyone’s going to lose their job because of this, either.

  5. I don’t think that’s what Wave was asking. Yes, this is the same Providence. The difference is that the Providence Hospital that is now Swedish Cherry Hill is just a part of the Providence system, which is in Washington, Alaska, and Oregon at the very least (I’m not sure about Idaho). This arrangement is between Swedish and all of Providence in Washington.

  6. I like the non-profit part. Just a tax dodge. Like REI – there is a non-profit. But why does it still cost $200 for a low quality pair of boots. Not to go off on REI for a the high price useless junk they sell. Let’s eliminate these meaningless abductions of merit. Tax them and make the act like real businesses with real standards for fair practice. When is the last time you got a sensible hospital bill or a good priced useful item from REI. Isn’t REI board mostly stacked with doctors? Hmmm.

  7. FOR EITHER GOOD OR BAD, PROVIDENCE IS RUNNING THE SWEDISH SYSTEM AND I SUSPECT IT WILL BECOME MORE RESPONSIBLE IN MANY ASPECTS OF MEDICAL CARE DELIVERY.