Providence Inland Northwest is closing several programs in Spokane and Stevens County to trim costs as the region’s largest medical provider searches for ways to respond to financial pressures brought on by state and federal funding cuts.
The number of employees affected is about 60. The programs facing closure include three orthopedic physical therapy clinics, including one at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Medical Center, one at Providence Medical Park in Spokane Valley and one at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chewelah. Providence is also closing the DominiCare program in Chewelah.
The medical services provided by the clinics are available elsewhere in both Spokane and Stevens counties, said Providence spokeswoman Allie Hyams.
“These programs are widely available in the community. In Spokane alone, we found 56 other clinics that offered these same orthopedic services, half of which took Medicaid,” she said. “By eliminating these programs, we can put our focus and resources into those programs that are not widely available in the community.”
Susan Stacey, chief executive of Providence operations in Eastern Washington, called the move a difficult but necessary step.
“We are committed to delivering high-quality care where it is most needed and enhancing our ability to serve our patients effectively,” Stacey said.
Providence declined to disclose how much money it expected to save by closing the programs.
Oct.3 will be the last day of services for the outpatient orthopedic clinics.
DominiCare is a companion-based program that serves elderly people who need non-clinical home services. Similar services are available in Stevens County, according to Hyams, including those provided by Catholic Charities.
Orthopedic services in Chewelah will be consolidated with a similar clinic at Providence Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville.
Taryn Ridley, who’s been a physical therapist at St. Joseph’s Hospital for seven years, is among those being laid off by the move. She said the decision will affect the rural people who rely on services near them.
“We get a lot of people that are low-income. It’s a retirement community; it’s people that have a hard time driving, especially in the winter,” Ridley said.
Ridley said she sees an average of nine people a day, or about 36 people a week – many of whom already have a hard time scheduling appointments, considering they are miles away from the next hospital.
“It’s just a lot more of a hassle to get somewhere,” Ridley said.
Among the employees affected will be at least 37 transferred to other departments. A few dozen more staff will be either laid off or encouraged to apply for other job openings within Providence.
“We have to cut positions, but we don’t want to cut people. So we will try to get those impacted into a different area,” Hyams said.
Providence facilities in Spokane have faced mounting financial difficulties in recent years. According to state data, Sacred Heart hospital has been losing tens of millions of dollars each year.
According to Providence, those losses have been exacerbated by state and federal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, ongoing denials and delayed payments from commercial insurers, higher labor costs, and higher costs for pharmaceuticals and supplies due to inflation and tariffs.
“It’s just a perfect storm,” Hyams said. “We’ve been working toward getting back to trying to get to on a sustainable path, but it’s just been with hurdles every single step of the way.”
“We are just going to be in for a tough couple of years,” Hyams said of the possibility of further program closures.
In a press release, Providence noted its financial pressures, including Medicaid and Medicare cuts, higher costs related to state policies, payment denials from insurers, rising labor, and supply costs.
“These headwinds will only intensify when the cuts to vital safety-net programs that were included in the recently passed HR1, also known as the One Beautiful Bill Act, go into effect.”
At an event in Spokane on Thursday, Sen. Maria Cantwell said providing health care services is a priority in order for people to live in these rural communities.
“One of the great things about rural Washington is that it is more affordable, but you have to have schools, you have to have health care, you have to have law enforcement,” Cantwell said.
“We don’t want to see them traveling 90 minutes to go get care somewhere. So we’re seeing what we were afraid was going to happen,” she said.