The board of Bellevue-based hospital chain PeaceHealth has tentatively voted to establish a central office in Vancouver that could pull several hundred jobs out of Oregon and other places. The move, which would be two years off, will take place only if PeaceHealth successfully completes a planned merger with Southwest Washington Health System, the parent of Southwest Washington Medical Center.
Brien Lautman, a spokesman for PeaceHealth, said Monday that plans for what the nonprofit calls a “shared services center” are aimed at making the organization more efficient and eventually preparing it for growth. The planned office complex would house back-office operations such as information technology and accounting. Other details are few.
It’s unclear, for example, how many workers would be relocated, how much it would cost and where in Vancouver the services center would be located. Also unclear is whether it would be built as a new structure or occupy existing office space.
Much of that information will come when PeaceHealth completes a feasibility study, which could wrap by the end of this month or early November, Lautman said. “There hasn’t been a final decision.”
The bulk of workers moved to Vancouver could come from Lane County, Ore., where PeaceHealth employs more than 4,800 people. However, Lautman said the relocation of workers “wouldn’t be just from Oregon to Vancouver” but would involve workers coming from other PeaceHealth locations. The nonprofit operates seven hospitals with more than 11,000 people in Oregon, Washington and Alaska.
The relocation of workers could take place in mid-2012. While the new site in Vancouver would be staffed with relocated workers, Lautman said, it could “potentially over time” create new jobs. Some employees of Southwest Washington Medical Center who work in office support positions also would be moved to the new shared services center in Vancouver, according to Lautman and Ken Cole, spokesman for Southwest.
Lautman said the shared services center will not lead to job losses at Southwest Washington Medical Center. For PeaceHealth workers who are unable or unwilling to relocate to Vancouver, Lautman said, the nonprofit will offer support, including retraining them for other jobs at the nonprofit.
For the relocation to become a reality, the feasibility study of the shared services center must be finished, and the Southwest Washington Health System must complete a merger with PeaceHealth.
The two nonprofits hope to secure the merger by the end of this year. If it happens, PeaceHealth would become the parent of Southwest Washington Health System. Last month, the Washington Department of Health said the merger doesn’t require a “certificate of need” review, partly because it doesn’t constitute the purchase, lease or sale of an existing hospital. The merger still needs approval from the Washington Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The merger would create a health company with roughly 15,000 employees and nearly $2 billion in revenues.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
