ARLINGTON — The Board of Snohomish County Public Hospital District No. 3 and the PeaceHealth Board have approved a letter of intent for the Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics to affiliate with PeaceHealth.
The approvals mark another milestone toward finalizing the hospital district’s previously announced desire to affiliate with PeaceHealth, in strategic collaboration with University of Washington Medicine. The process to complete ongoing negotiations and work out details is expected to take more than a year.
“This is the right direction for our community,” Cascade Valley CEO Clark Jones said. “We chose to work with PeaceHealth in part because of their commitment to improving and expanding access to the health care services here in northern Snohomish County that are most needed by district residents.”
The letter of intent calls for the district to retain ownership of all land and buildings, and lease them to PeaceHealth. In turn, PeaceHealth will provide local services by operating the district’s clinics and the hospital.
“This affiliation provides a much more secure future for local health care services,” District Board Chair Tim Cavanagh said. “This is an important aspect of our board stewardship, which we take very seriously. We are delighted with PeaceHealth and the progress we have made in developing the letter of intent, and where we’ll be in the future in terms of local access to health care.”
Peter Adler, PeaceHealth Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, said PeaceHealth’s goal, after first being invited by a community to provide services, is to expand and enhance care and services as close to home as possible. He said PeaceHealth is committed to serving all, including those without the ability to pay.
“We are honored that Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics invited PeaceHealth to serve the health care needs of the people of northern Snohomish County,” Adler said. “We are aware of and humbled that the district had choices, and that they selected PeaceHealth. We’re delighted with this chance to enhance local services, and to continue collaborating with local physicians and caregivers.”
“It’s exciting to take this next positive step in shaping our affiliation with Cascade Valley,” said Nancy Steiger, PeaceHealth Northwest Network Chief Mission Officer and Chief Executive Officer. “PeaceHealth was founded on the principle of going where we’re needed to preserve and provide local health care services. This has been our legacy for more than a century, and we’re very humbled to see this legacy continue on behalf of the people of northern Snohomish County, and in collaboration with UW Medicine for complex tertiary and quaternary care.”
PeaceHealth is based in Vancouver, Wash., and is a not-for-profit Catholic health system, offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a multi-specialty medical group practice with more than 800 physicians and providers, a comprehensive laboratory system, and nine medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth.
