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MultiCare announces ‘strategic affiliation’ with Samaritan Health of Oregon

MultiCare, the Tacoma-based health system, announced Wednesday it had approved a “strategic affiliation” with Samaritan Health Services, committing to invest resources into the Oregon medical provider for the next decade. 

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The two companies said in a press release that they expect nothing to change for patients or employees. Samaritan will remain locally governed, but MultiCare will help it modernize its facilities, grow primary and specialty care and introduce new technologies and telehealth capabilities.

The agreement will also add capacity at Samaritan Regional Medical Center, a hospital in Corvallis, Oregon, and introduce MultiCare’s behavioral health network into Samaritan’s service area.

Samaritan plans to sign a formal agreement with MultiCare in the coming weeks and complete the affiliation by mid-2026.

Samaritan, a Corvallis-based nonprofit that runs about 80 clinics and five community hospitals in Oregon’s Benton, Lincoln and Linn counties, has faced financial troubles since at least March, according to the nonprofit health news site the Lund Report.

“This affiliation represents an important step in securing the future of nonprofit health care in our region,” said Marty Cahill, president and CEO of Samaritan. “ We are excited and honored to become MultiCare’s first health system in Oregon and to bring the benefits of MultiCare’s expertise home to the communities we serve.”

Local Multicare facilities

MultiCare has more than 300 clinics and 13 hospitals, including several on the Kitsap Peninsula. They include the MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care on Point Fosdick Drive in Gig Harbor and the recently opened ‘neighborhood’ emergency room along Highway 303 in East Bremerton.

Among the 13 MultiCare hospitals is Tacoma General.

MultiCare CEO Bill Robertson said in a statement announcing the agreement that the two companies are aligned in their mission to preserve long-term access to local health care in the Northwest

“It will be our privilege to be a part of the communities Samaritan serves and we look forward to working together to support and advance health care in Oregon,” he said.