Officials from Providence Health &Services and Swedish Health Services announced Feb. 1 that the affiliation between both health systems is official.
The agreement will allow both organizations to work together to improve health-care quality, access and affordability for residents of Western Washington.
Swedish joins with Providence’s Northwest and Southwest Washington operations to create a new organization serving the greater Puget Sound area. This new region includes all of Swedish’s operations in King and South Snohomish counties and Providence’s operations in King, Snohomish, Thurston and Lewis counties.
The two organizations were waiting for a decision from the Federal Trade Commission to see if the proposal raised any anti-trust issues. The FTC has decided not to pursue any challenge of the proposal, said Colleen Wadden, a spokeswoman for Providence Health &Services.
The proposal calls for the parent organization of Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and Seattle-based Swedish Health Service to form a new nonprofit health-care system and share resources.
As a part of the affiliation, Providence will retain its Catholic identity and name, and Swedish will retain its name and will remain nonreligious.
In Snohomish County, Providence not only operates the county’s largest hospital, located in Everett, but a string of health care clinics and a hospice service.
Swedish, meanwhile, took over operation in 2010 of the former Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, now called Swedish/Edmonds. It also operates a satellite emergency room near the 128th Street exit off I-5 south of Everett.
Providence and Swedish announced key leadership changes, including:
• Arnie Schaffer will serve as executive vice president, chief executive of the new Western Washington Region. Schaffer previously oversaw Providence’s regional operations in Alaska, Washington, Montana and California, and, in his new role, will be responsible for affiliation operations and overseeing integration activities between Swedish and Providence.
• Rod Hochman, MD, has accepted a new position with Providence, serving as one of two group presidents for Providence’s five-state system. In this capacity, Hochman will oversee clinical quality, physician services, human resources and communication for the Providence system and will also have accountability for Oregon and Washington operations.
• Currently serving as chief operating officer for Providence, Mike Butler has been promoted to group president, Providence Health &Services. Butler will oversee management services, finance, strategy and business development, senior and community services and will have accountability for Alaska, California and Montana operations.
• Kevin Brown will serve as the new chief executive for Swedish Health Services. Brown previously served as Swedish’s chief strategy officer and administrator for Ballard, Issaquah, Mill Creek and Redmond.
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