Irvine-based St. Joseph Health said today it signed a definitive agreement with Renton, Wash.-based Providence Health and Services.
The Catholic hospital operators will create Providence St. Joseph Health, a new parent organization. Providence St. Joseph will be based in Renton and run by Dr. Rod Hochman, current chief executive of Providence Health. Deborah Proctor, St. Joseph Health chief executive, is scheduled to retire at the end of this year.
Irvine will be the home of a Providence St. Joseph system office. The hospital operators said in a news release that the organization’s board will include seven members appointed by St. Joseph Health and seven members appointed by Providence Health.
St. Joseph Health and Providence said in a statement that the proposed partnership isn’t final and that they were working with California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office on the next steps. They said they hope to complete the review and approval process in 2016.
The two systems first confirmed negotiations toward an affiliation in July.
