The merger between Yakima (Wash.) Valley Memorial Hospital and Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center was made official on Jan. 1 after the Federal Trade Commission approved the deal, according to the Yakima Herald.
The two organizations began partnership talks in 2014 and signed a letter of intent to affiliate in October of that year. At that time, Yakima Valley Memorial and Virginia Mason said their goals for the partnership were to increase access to healthcare, improve patient satisfaction, advance physician recruitment and expand their financial, clinical and information systems.
With the deal approved by the FTC, integration teams from both hospitals are laying out plans to guide the affiliation process over the next several months, according to the report.
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