Providence and Swedish Finalize Partnership

Last October, Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services announced their intentions to form a partnership.  Today, they announced that the partnership has been finalized:

Officials from locally based Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services announced today that the affiliation between both health systems is official. This unique affiliation 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.

Through this affiliation both organizations will collaborate to better deliver health care to the region, while at the same time maintaining their individual identities and heritage. Providence will retain its Catholic identity and name, and Swedish will retain its name and will remain non-religious. While the organizations’ names and brands will not be changing and patients won’t see any difference in how they access care, by working together, Providence and Swedish can reduce costs and increase quality and access for patients in Western Washington.

Read the entire story here.