Religious affiliation

Catholic Health Initiatives, Englewood, Colo., signed a letter of intent to affiliate with fellow Catholic care provider eight-hospital PeaceHealth, Bellevue, Wash.

Officials said the proposal would create a new regional healthcare system for the northwestern U.S. combining seven CHI hospitals— including the five that make up Tacoma, Wash.-based Franciscan Health System—with PeaceHealth’s eight hospitals. A ninth hospital, scheduled to open in November in Friday Har- bor, Wash., would also be part of the system.

Officials say the new organization will be made up of about 26,000 employees and about 950 physicians at clinics and hospitals. There are no plans to rebrand and change names at this time, CHI President and CEO Kevin Lofton said. CHI and PeaceHealth would be equal partners in the integrated health system, he added.

“We think this also gives us a really good platform for growth in the region, as other independent hospital systems are going to look at us,” Lofton said.

Seven CHI hospitals are part of the deal: Mercy Medical Center, Roseburg, Ore.; St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton, Ore.; St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash.; St. Francis Hospital, Federal Way, Wash.; St. Clare Hospital, Lakewood, Wash.; St. Anthony Hospital, Gig Harbor, Wash.; and St. Elizabeth Hospital, Enumclaw, Wash. CHI’s Franciscan Medical Group and Franciscan Hospice and Palliative Care are also included.

The PeaceHealth hospitals that are part of the deal are: PeaceHealth Cottage Grove (Ore.) Community Hospital; PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Hospital, Florence, Ore.; PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, Springfield, Ore.; PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District, Eugene, Ore.; PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center, Bellingham, Wash.; PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center, Longview, Wash.; PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Vancouver, Wash.; and PeaceHealth Ketchikan (Alaska) Medical Center.