Providence-Swedish Affiliation Could Benefit Renton

could mean increased hiring in Renton.

During a conference call Thursday afternoon with reporters, Providence President and CEO Dr. John Koster said, “We think overall this is going to have a positive impact on jobs in Renton. This agreement will let us leverage expertise in many areas, and Renton is our headquarters.”

Koster noted that Providence has already added hundreds of jobs to implement the Epic medical records system, which Swedish already uses. He said it will take a couple of years to get the system working in all Providence locations.

Koster’s counterpart at Swedish, Dr. Rod Hochman, stressed that affiliations such as theirs would be key to “the clinical transformation that will be the secret to health-care success in the future.”

Hochman provided some additional details about the structure of the new organization. He said it will have one board, made up of directors from Swedish and from the Providence regional board. They will form one obligated group in terms of debt, but will not form a new, single 501(c) organization.

Working together, Providence and Swedish plan to reduce costs “by better organizing how care is delivered,” they stated in a press release. More efficient delivery of care and approaches to chronic disease management will “make health care more affordable for government payers, commercial insurers, employers and patients,” they state.

Specifically how those efficiencies will be gained has not been spelled out. Providence is one of Renton’s largest employers, with approximately 1,200 people in Renton.

 “We’re certainly aware of the trend toward consolidation in the medical field,” said Alex Pietsch, Renton’s community and economic development administrator. “We’ve just seen that with UW Medicine and Valley Medical Center. Any steps that make Providence stronger are probably good for Renton.”

Regulatory approval of the agreement is expected to take some time. Until then, the two groups will remain separate. Under the affiliation plan, the two organizations will maintain their individual identities. Providence will remain a Catholic organization, while Swedish will remain non-religious.

Their joint operating area 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.

“We had to think beyond merger or acquisition to accomplish this, and this affiliation is really the best of both worlds. The shared knowledge and capabilities of Providence and Swedish will benefit our communities for many, many years to come,” said Dr. John Koster, Providence Health & Services president and CEO, in the press release.

One benefit of the affiliation will be a common electronic health record that will connect Providence and Swedish hospitals, outpatient centers and doctors’ offices throughout Western Washington. In addition, by sharing resources, both organizations can make it easier to access health care across the entire range of services – from primary care, specialized care, research and hospice and long-term care.