On April 30, Providence Swedish announced that it will merge its First Hill and Cherry Hill Family Medicine residency programs in order to reduce its training positions, according to two anonymous sources, who told the SGN they are current and former resident physicians of these programs. 

“Providence Swedish is proposing a merger of the two residencies that would reduce the total number of training positions from 78 to 51, a 35% reduction.”  

The physicians say the merger, and its subsequent reduction of trainees, would have major impacts on primary care services in King County and the greater Pacific Northwest region.

The two explained that when they complete their residency, Family Medicine physicians will carry a panel size of approximately 1,800 patients each. They noted that by not training 18 residents per cohort, an estimated 32,000 patients would not be served every three years.

“Leadership states [that] the reduction in trainees is necessary due to financial pressures on healthcare institutions, including the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which are very real,” they said. “However, this decision is in conflict with their stated values, as a mission-oriented nonprofit seeking to serve all. 

“Evidence indicates that each primary care doctor added to a community is associated with both decreased overall mortality and decreased racial disparity in mortality rates in those communities.”

The physicians also said that Swedish’s residency programs provide patient care to a variety of other clinics that support marginalized populations, including the Downtown Public Health Clinic, the Seattle Indian Health Board, Sea Mar, Seattle Roots, International Community Health Services, and North Olympic Healthcare.

“These clinics rely on resident physicians to expand access for patients who already face significant barriers to care, and likely they will need to reduce services if these positions are cut,” they said. “Alumni currently practice at these community health clinics, as well as at other major medical systems in the region, including UW Medicine, Kaiser, Valley Medical Center, and of course, Providence Swedish.”