PeaceHealth is a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

health care system A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...

that owns and operates ten

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s and numerous

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

s in the U.S. states of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. The organization is headquartered in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, and was founded by the Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1976.

History

In August 1890,

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace moved to

Fairhaven, Washington Fairhaven (or Fairhaven Village) was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham and remains a historic neighborhood. Description The Fairhaven area is situated on the so ...

, from the convent in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, to establish a hospital for loggers; St. Joseph Hospital opened in January 1891. After continued growth, the Sisters consolidated their healthcare ministries in the west and formed a not-for-profit health care system in 1976, and in 1994 the name was changed to PeaceHealth. In 1997, PeaceHealth merged its SelectCare

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

plan with a service from

Providence Health & Services Providence Health & Services is a not-for-profit Catholic Church, Catholic healthcare system headquartered in Renton, Washington. The health system includes 51 hospitals, more than 800 non-acute facilities, and numerous assisted living faciliti ...

. Their partnership has continued until at least 2015, when in October of that year, they jointly signed a letter of intent to collaborate on a health center in

. In 2016, both parties denied that they were eyeing merging. PeaceHealth merged with Southwest Washington Health System in December 2010, and moved its headquarters from

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

to Vancouver, Washington. At the time, PeaceHealth had annual revenues of approximately $1.3 billion and operated seven hospitals. The organization announced an alliance with

University of Washington Medical Center The University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) is a hospital in the University District of Seattle, Washington. It is one of the teaching hospitals affiliated with the University of Washington School of Medicine and is located in the Wa ...

in May 2013, which the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

criticized due to PeaceHealth following Catholic medical care directives. PeaceHealth acquired ZoomCare in 2018. PeaceHealth changed their logo in spring of 2023, to better reflect their focus on "whole person wellness". On May 22, 2025, PeaceHealth reduced it's workforce by 1% and implemented a hiring freeze through the end of 2025. All PeaceHealth employees received an email from Richard DeCarlo, executive vice president and COO, and Sarah Ness, executive vice president and chief administration officer that said certain programs and workforce across Springfield, Ore.-based PeaceHealth, Sacred Heart at RiverBend Medical Centers, and Vancouver-based PeaceHealth SouthWest Medical Center would be affected by the reductions.

PeaceHealth Medical Group

PeaceHealth operates ten hospitals in three states: *

** PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center (

Ketchikan Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a po ...

) *

** PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center ( Cottage Grove) ** PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center University District (

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

) ** PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center (

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

) ** PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center RiverBend ( Springfield) *

Washington (state) Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from Washington, D.C., the national capital, both n ...

** PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center ( Bellingham) ** PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center ( Friday Harbor) ** PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center ( Longview) ** PeaceHealth United General Medical Center ( Sedro-Woolley) ** PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center (

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

) The hospitals, as well as the 139 clinics operated by PeaceHealth, constitute the PeaceHealth Medical Group. Its chief executive is Mike Metcalf.

Networks

PeaceHealth operates three "networks"—Northwest (containing their locations in Bellingham, Friday Harbor, and Sedro-Woolley, as well as Alaska), Columbia (containing their locations in Longview and Vancouver), and Oregon.

PeaceHealth Laboratories

PeaceHealth Laboratories is the laboratory branch of PeaceHealth. Its CEO is Ran Whitehead.

References

{{authority control Catholic health care Companies based in Vancouver, Washington Healthcare in Washington (state) Healthcare in Oregon Health care companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in Oregon Medical and health organizations based in Washington (state) Catholic hospital networks in the United States