EVERETT — Some nurses in the state say an upcoming joint venture between Providence Home and Community Care and Compassus, a for-profit company with private equity ownership, could have an adverse effect on health care.
The deal, expected to be finalized in Washington early this year, would affect multiple Providence locations in the state, including Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County in Everett. The joint venture impacts locations in five U.S. states.
Under a new name — Providence at Home with Compassus — Providence would have a 50% stake, but management and day-to-day operations would fall under Compassus, a national home health care provider.
National challenges in the health care industry, such as personnel shortages and the rising cost of pharmaceuticals and supplies, contributed to the decision, wrote Providence spokesperson Ed Boyle in an email.
“We realize we don’t need to do it all on our own,” he said.
Boyle and Compassus spokesperson Dana Coleman said there will be no changes in care or staffing under the joint venture. But some nursing advocates, like Ian Mikusko, worry that a for-profit, private equity influence could be harmful for health care.
“Private equity is somewhat more extractive because there’s a pressure to provide large dividend payments to investors,” said Mikusko, strategic researcher with the Washington State Nurses Association.
Mikusko cited research that shows quality of care diminishes when private equity companies become involved in health care, such as a 2023 study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Another 2023 study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that private equity acquisition led to a 25% increase in hospital-acquired conditions, including falls and bloodstream infections.
Currently, Washington is dominated by nonprofit health care, Mikusko said.
“This type of deal could potentially give private equity the foothold to expand within the state, so it could be bigger than just this operation,” he said.
Compassus has more than 270 locations in 30 U.S. states. The company is based in Brentwood, Tennessee, and jointly owned by Ascension Health and Towerbrook Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in the United Kingdom.
“That shows you how distant it is from the people here in Washington,” Mikusko said.
The joint venture will honor existing collective bargaining agreements, and there are no plans to change pay practices, Coleman said. Still, Service Employees International Union 1199NW, which represents Providence hospice nurses in Everett, is reinforcing its contract out of caution, said Yolanda King-Lowe, secretary-treasurer for SEIU 1199NW.
“Nurses are concerned with maintaining high standards, and hospice care is really synonymous with preserving the dignity and respect that patients deserve, especially at this stage of end of life,” King-Lowe said.
Providence has not notified current patients or family members about the joint venture, but nurses have information for anyone who asks.
“It is important patients/family members know there won’t be any impact or disruption to their care plan,” Boyle wrote. “The nurses, therapists, social workers and other Providence team members they’ve come to know and trust will continue caring for them. There won’t be any change in eligibility or insurance acceptance.”
Despite a last-minute review in Oregon, the joint venture should move forward in Washington as planned in “early 2025,” Boyle said.
SEIU 1199NW submitted a request for information to Providence in October for more clarity on contracts and the Oregon review, but hasn’t received all of the answers, King-Lowe said.
“It is certainly going to have an impact on morale, which means it’s going to have an impact on patient care,” she said.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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