Irvine-based St. Joseph Health System and Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health & Services – both nonprofit Catholic hospital groups – have signed a definitive agreement to combine their operations under a new parent organization that will be called Providence St. Joseph Health.
The parent organization, to be based in Renton and headed by current Providence CEO Rod Hochman, will set “a shared mission and vision, as well as the strategic, financial and operational direction for the system overall,” the two groups said in a written statement.
Hochman will serve as the CEO of the parent organization, which will be based in Renton, Wash. There will be two system offices – in Renton and in Irvine. The board of directors of the parent organization will include seven members appointed by Providence and seven members appointed by St. Joseph Health.
St. Joseph operates hospitals in California, Texas and New Mexico. Its Orange County facilities include St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton and Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach.
St. Joseph also has a strong formal affiliation with Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, and that will remain intact in the newly combined group, a St. Joseph spokeswoman said.
Providence operates in Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon and Washington.
The two groups said their proposed partnership is not final until it secures regulatory approval. They said they are working with the California Attorney General’s office and hope to complete the approval process next year.