In March the Boards of Commissioners of Cascade Valley, Island and Skagit Valley hospitals unanimously approved sending out Request for Proposals to MultiCare Health System, PeaceHealth, Providence-Swedish, Virginia Mason Medical Center and UW Medicine.
Partnerships and consolidations among health-care systems represent a trend that is playing out across the country and in the Northwest. Health-care systems are forming alliances to combine strengths, focus on improving patient care, accessing capital and reducing the cost of health care through the streamlining of services.
Cascade, Island and Skagit seek a partnership with a larger health system to enhance patient care, extend access to specialty services and augment clinical quality; to continue to recruit and retain physicians and other providers; to seek efficiencies and cost containment opportunities; ensure long-term economic viability and prepare for the rigors of health-care reform and budget reductions at the state and federal levels.
The overarching goal of the process is to retain and expand excellence in local health care for the people served by the three hospitals.