From UW Medicine

On Jan. 1, 2020, Northwest Hospital will become “UW Medical Center – Northwest,” a second campus of University of Washington Medical Center.

The current campus of University of Washington Medical Center will be “UW Medical Center – Montlake,” a nod to its location near the Montlake Cut, the easternmost part of the ship canal that connects Lake Washington to Puget Sound.

Northwest Hospital opened in 1960 and became an entity of UW Medicine in 2010. It retains its “Northwest” roots as a dependable healthcare provider for the surrounding neighborhoods.

The integration realizes the long-range goal set in late 2009 when Northwest Hospital affiliated with the UW Medicine health system.

Planning to formally integrate the two hospitals started in 2017, and the UW Board of Regents approved the proposal on Feb. 8, 2018, stating that it would better align clinical programs and improve patient care, create financial and administrative efficiencies, and reduce costs.

Under terms of the integration, former employees of Northwest Hospital are now employed by the University of Washington, and many of the hospital’s doctors have joined the UW Physicians practice group.

The integration has also involved merging systems for billing, payroll, and patients’ electronic medical records.