MultiCare and Yakima Valley Memorial announce Acquisition Agreement

Jim Moloney

MultiCare Health System and Yakima Valley Memorial have announced plans for Memorial to become a wholly owned subsidiary of MultiCare. An Affiliation Agreement was signed in October 2022. This transaction is subject to routine regulatory approval as well as customary closing conditions and is expected to close in early 2023.

Cain Brothers, a division of KeyBanc Capital Markets, was retained by MultiCare as its exclusive buy-side advisor to assist MultiCare through the acquisition process and negotiations with Memorial. Cain Brothers brought deep domain expertise in the hospital and health system sector and a strong understanding of the Washington health care market. This affiliation will help achieve MultiCare and Memorial’s shared goal of retaining and expanding local access to health care and improving the quality and cost of care for Yakima Valley communities. Under the terms of the agreement, MultiCare will invest in new programs, implement an integrated electronic health record system, strengthen the hospital’s role as the leading health care hub in Central Washington, and help provide a sustainable future for Yakima’s only hospital. The Central Washington health system will become a part of MultiCare in early 2023 and its name will change to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital at that time.

MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization that has been caring for communities in Washington state since the founding of Tacoma’s first hospital in 1882. MultiCare has grown from a Tacoma-centric, hospital-based organization into the largest, not-for-profit, community-based, locally owned health system in the State of Washington. With more than 20,000 team members, its network of care includes 11 hospitals and 240+ clinics in both the Puget Sound and Inland Northwest regions.

Yakima Valley Memorial is a not-for-profit health system with nearly 3,000 team members and is the largest employer in Yakima County. Memorial has been providing quality patient care to the Yakima Valley for 72 years. Memorial comprises a 226-bed hospital, primary care practices and specialty care services including cardiac care, cancer care through North Star Lodge, breast health at Ohana Mammography Center, acute hospice and respite care at Cottage in the Meadow, pain management at Water’s Edge, the only level-3 NICU in Central Washington, and advanced services for children with special health care needs at Children’s Village.