The Washington State Department of Health has approved a first-of-its-kind partnership between Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center and Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, Wash.
The Washington DOH granted a certificate of need for nonprofit Swedish to lease and operate Stevens, which is owned by Public Hospital District #2 of Snohomish County, Wash. Under the 30-year arrangement, Swedish will pay monthly lease payments to the district of at least $600,000.
The partnership will take effect Sept. 1, and Stevens will be renamed Swedish/Edmonds. Swedish officials said current Stevens administrators and staff would remain in place and new employees will be added as services expand.
"Hospitals all over America are aligning with other facilities for a variety of reasons," said Cal Knight, president and chief operating officer of Swedish. "In this case, both Swedish and Stevens were financially sound, but each needed a strong partner in order to grow and improve care in south Snohomish and north King counties."
Knight said Swedish will make day-to-day operations decisions for the facility and the Hospital District Board of Commissioners would be consulted on major issues. The district will continue to exist, as it has a broader mission beyond acute-care hospital services.
Swedish, greater Seattle's largest non-profit healthcare provider with 1,245 licensed beds, has three hospital campuses in Seattle and a fourth under construction in Issaquah, Wash. It also operates an extensive network of primary- and specialty-care clinics. The medical center employs 7,360 people system-wide.
Stevens is licensed for 217 beds and has more than 1,200 employees.
"There is a good cultural fit on many levels," said Mike Carter, Stevens' president and CEO. "Both hospitals are non-profit and secular, we are locally controlled, we share a commitment to reforming how healthcare is delivered, and we are dedicated to assisting the underserved."
He said Stevens and Swedish would be able to better manage costs and reduce waste by combining their assets and provide greater value to patients by improving care-delivery models.
Knight and Carter noted several advantages to the new relationship. Together, Swedish and Stevens form a regional healthcare delivery network that will allow Stevens to provide more local services while giving residents greater access to the latest medical treatments and the comprehensive services of the Swedish system.
The national connections and reputation developed by Swedish will also help with recruitment and retention of physicians, nurses, therapists, administrators and support staff, Carter said.
"From the outset, it was important to maintain Stevens as a vital community resource," said Carter. "We are the largest employer in Edmonds and, as we expand and diversify, the hospital will be a key driver of positive economic activity in south Snohomish County and beyond."