Officials from locally based Providence Health & Services and Swedish Health Services announced today that the affiliation between both health systems is official.

The affiliation was first announced in October. Swedish has five hospitals in Puget Sound, including Swedish/Edmonds, formerly known as Stevens Hospital. Swedish took over operations of Stevens, an independent hospital for 47 years, on Sept. 1, 2010.

Swedish joins with Providence’s Northwest and Southwest Washington operations to create a new organization serving the greater Puget Sound area. This new region includes all of Swedish’s operations in south Snohomish and counties and Providence’s operations in Snohomish, King, Thurston and Lewis counties.

Providence will retain its Catholic identity and name, and Swedish will retain its name and will remain nonreligious. (However, Swedish/Edmonds announed in October that it would no longer perform abortions, except in emergencies.)

“This is an exciting day for both organizations,” said John Koster, MD, Providence Health & Services president and CEO. “Together, we will reach new levels of excellence and will be able to improve quality and access for Western Washington in a way we couldn’t as separate organizations.”

For more information, including leadership changes, go to the Swedish Website.