HEALTH CARE: Providence, Swedish announce ‘unified brand’

| Health | West Seattle businesses | West Seattle news

Two of our region’s major health-care organizations, Providence and Swedish, have been affiliated for a decade now. But apparently that’s not obvious to all, so they’ve announced a “unified brand” … all the organizations’ eight hospitals and 214 clinics will now be under the brand Providence Swedish. The announcement suggests the only real difference patients will notice will be signage; that’ll roll out in the months ahead, we were told on follow-up. The announcement also includes this note:

As they have since 2012, Providence and Swedish will continue to honor one another’s distinct identities. Swedish will remain a secular organization, and Providence will remain a faith-based organization. That means Swedish locations will continue to provide certain services that may not be available at Providence locations according to the original affiliation agreement. Providence and Swedish will also remain separate employers, and its foundations will continue to operate as separate 501(c)3s.

KBear March 31, 2022 (8:44 pm)

Awesome! Your corporate mergers mean little to your patients. Could we please have a hospital with an emergency room in West Seattle? Or maybe just urgent care?

concerned agnostic March 31, 2022 (8:49 pm)

So the signage will be the same at all locations but certain locations that are “faith-based” Providence locations won’t provide services that the Catholic church doesn’t approve of? That certainly won’t lead to any type of confusion, I’ll be thankful when the day comes that we don’t have to rely on faith-based organizations to access medical care.

Curry April 1, 2022 (7:04 am)

^^ This
(Virginia Mason now too)
Jessica April 1, 2022 (9:29 am)

The Catholic Church is slowly buying up hospitals everywhere. They don’t believe in birth control or abortion or end of life euthanasia. I guess limiting access to care is one way to push your doctrine on others when you can’t get enough votes.
- bayla dornon April 1, 2022 (11:35 am)
  
  Exactly.
- WS Res April 1, 2022 (3:20 pm)
  
  They also don’t believe in gender-affirming care and allowing partners of LGB people appropriate access and decision-making for their loved ones.

CarDriver April 1, 2022 (6:51 am)

KBEAR. We used to. Original was at California and Alaka. It moved to just north of Westwood Village in the early ’60’s i believe. Was here until the late 80’s early ’90’s(?)

Rocket April 1, 2022 (11:03 am)

It’s good that people will now know that the Providence VC fund has contributions made by the profits from the care you receive at Swedish.
- WS Res April 1, 2022 (3:21 pm)
  
  I love funding anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ politicians with my health care costs.

anonyme April 1, 2022 (9:23 am)

Our health care system is a disaster, both in administration and practice. I’m with Swedish and feel totally unsafe with my care. The information on MyChart is contradictory and inaccurate, and requests for non-urgent care are often responded to with “go to the emergency room”. Part of the problem is the approach of Western Medicine, which is a close partnership between doctors and pharmaceutical companies – NOT doctors and patients, who seem to be the last element of the equation to be considered.

Rocket April 1, 2022 (11:06 am)

The problem is 100% with healthcare being managed as a product and not a service. Companies like Providence that are running a non profit scam so they can divert all profits to executive bonuses and to their venture capital arm ar the problem. It will only be solved with Medicare for all.
- anonyme April 1, 2022 (1:47 pm)
  
  I agree, although not with the 100% part. Almost all medicine is now practiced on the HMO model, with ‘gatekeepers’ jacking up profits by demanding that patients be seen by a primary for the silliest, most obvious reasons and requiring referrals for just about everything. Primary physicians are nothing more than stenographers for profit-hungry hospitals. This inflates the cost of health care while decreasing actual care for patients. It would be much cheaper and more efficient for a single-payer system (Medicare) to cover just about everything (including vision & dental) at better rates than Medicare currently offers, and eliminate all the superfluous fingers in the pie. However, I also think the non-holistic approach of Western Medicine so heavily reliant on expensive tests and gadgets and overprescribed pharmaceuticals are part of what makes US healthcare among the worst in the civilized world. As for faith-based health care, it should be illegal.

Anonymous April 2, 2022 (8:31 pm)

What would the founders, Dr. Nils Johanson and his ten fellow Swedish immigrants, think of the name change? For years, when you mentioned “Swedish” was where you received your medical care, people were in awe. Why because Swedish was known for “exceptional care, exceptional caring”. Consolidations/affiliations in health care do not necessarily improve patient care.

tim April 3, 2022 (6:16 pm)

Swedish. I had an MRI done by them. $5000 billed to my insurance. When I went to seethe results, the doctor didn’t know how to look at it or interpret it on his new computer in his new office. He actually got really irate and started yelling at me. When I called his office for a copyto take to another doctor it was nowhere to be found. They were paid, and theylost my MRI. What a joke. Been 5 years now, never setting foot in that place again.

Sorry, comment time is over.