MultiCare growing with addition of central WA hospital; deal set to close in early ’23
Following a proposed merger announcement in May, Tacoma-based MultiCare and Yakima Valley Memorial on Friday announced agreement to terms of acquisition.
The 226-bed hospital in Yakima will become a wholly owned subsidiary, following routine regulatory approval “as well as customary closing conditions,” the two entities said in a joint news release.
“Under the terms of the agreement, MultiCare will invest in new programs; implement an integrated electronic health record; strengthen the hospital’s role as the leading health care hub in central Washington; and help provide a sustainable future for Yakima’s only hospital,” the release stated.
“Our relationship with Memorial began in 2021 when we partnered to expand oncology services in the Yakima Valley region,” said Bill Robertson, CEO of MultiCare. “This agreement is a natural evolution of that partnership and aligns with our organizations’ mutual commitment to keeping the care central Washington communities need in those communities.”
Memorial’s local health system includes primary care practices and specialty care services.
“The central Washington health system will become a part of MultiCare in early 2023 and its name will change to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital at that time,” according to the release.
“Yakima Valley Memorial has provided quality patient care to the Yakima Valley for 72 years,” said Carole Peet, CEO of Memorial. “This agreement will strengthen our ability to provide robust primary and specialty care services to this community for decades to come. We are excited to join MultiCare and look forward to what our combined resources will offer the people of the Yakima Valley.”
MultiCare’s network includes 11 hospitals and hundreds of clinics in both the Puget Sound and Inland Northwest regions.
The nonprofit Yakima hospital formerly operated as Virginia Mason Memorial. Its board of directors voted to end its affiliation with Seattle-based Virginia Mason in October 2020, amid the merger plans for Virginia Mason and CHI Franciscan, which was finalized in 2021.
The hospital employs nearly 3,000 and is the largest employer in Yakima County.
The acquisition announcement comes the same week MultiCare broke ground on its new Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital site in Tacoma.
