Providence Swedish to cut nearly 300 positions amid financial pressures

Seattle-based Providence Swedish will eliminate 296 positions, roughly 3.8% of its central Puget Sound region workforce, because of ongoing financial challenges, the hospital system said Tuesday.

Front-line, clinical, administrative and management positions will be cut in early 2026 at Swedish First Hill, Cherry Hill, Issaquah and Ballard hospital campuses and Swedish outpatient clinics. About 25% of the cuts involve open positions that will remain unfilled.

“I think we all know we're already in a broken system, and now it feels like we're in the middle of a perfect storm,” Dr. Elizabeth Wako, president and CEO of Swedish Health Services, said in an interview with the Business Journal.

The big black cloud is reimbursement revenue. Roughly 60% of revenue generated by Swedish hospitals in the central Puget Sound region comes through Medicaid and Medicare payments, according to Business Journal research.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/11/18/swedish-providence-layoffs-reimbursement-cuts.html