PeaceHealth and University of Washington Medicine signed a 10-year “collaboration agreement” Sept. 12, under which PeaceHealth, which operates clinics and hospitals in Friday Harbor, Bellingham and other locations, will refer complex cases or high risk patients to University of Washington hospitals.
PeaceHealth previously had attempted to negotiate a different kind of cooperative arrangement with the Franciscan Health System, a unit of Catholic Health Services of Colorado. The negotiations were terminated earlier this year for unspecified reasons. PeaceHealth was recently selected as a possible affiliation partner by Skagit Regional Health hospitals and Cascade Valley Hospital. Island Hospital of Anacortes, operator of Orcas Medical Center on Orcas Island, participated in the process but decided not to participate.
The agreement specifies eight examples of medical care that might be provided by UW, including level 1 trauma and burn care, cancer care, organ transplantation, complex cardiac and vascular care and complex neurological surgical care.
