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PROVIDENCE HEALTH

Slashing Services, Cheating Patients

Since taking over St. Joseph Health’s Northern California hospitals a decade ago, Providence has laid off caregivers, eliminated critical services, and forced patients to pay bills they can’t afford. But healthcare workers in Napa, Sonoma, and Humboldt counties are fighting back to safeguard patient care in their communities.

“Providence broke its promise to our community. By closing the birthing center at Petaluma Valley Hospital, Providence created a 42-mile ‘maternity desert’ that puts women and babies at risk.”
Petaluma Nurse
“Shortly after taking over our hospital, Providence attempted to lay off dozens of caregivers even though the company was reporting big profits. It’s still failing to fix broken equipment and safely staff our units.
Santa Rosa Worker
“There are days when I have to care for more than 20 patients at once,” said a nursing assistant. “We’re constantly understaffed and overworked. Providence has a near monopoly on hospital care in our county, but instead of meeting the needs of our patients, it’s taking profits out of our community."
Humboldt Worker
“There’s been a sharp decline in commitment to local care after Providence took over for St. Joseph Health. When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, we had to fight just to get the scans he needed."
Queen of the Valley Worker
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Diminished Care

Providence is the dominant hospital operator in Napa, Sonoma, and Humboldt counties, but despite a history of strong profits, and $8 billion in reserves, it’s slashing medical services and understaffing its hospitals.

Sonoma
County

Providence has sold off outpatient labs, laid off workers, closed a regional birthing center, and cut ICU hours.

Humboldt
County

Providence has sold off outpatient labs, closed a rural birthing center, and is now closing the county’s only acute rehab center.

Napa
County

Providence has sold off outpatient labs and laid off emergency room workers.

In a union survey, 54 percent of Providence workers reported that there usually is not enough staff to provide appropriate and timely care.

Charity Care Shortfalls

As a tax exempt hospital operator Providence must provide free “charity” care for qualifying patients. But Providence has:

  • Spent less than half the amount that nonprofit hospitals typically devote to providing free care for the poor. 
  • Spent more than twice as much on executive salaries over the past five years than it has on charity care in Northern California.

In 2022 Providence’s NorCal hospitals devoted only 2 percent to charity care.

Between 2018 and 2022, Providence paid an average of $43.4 million in executive salaries and only $20.2 million in charity care at its Northern California hospitals

Hounding Patients

In 2022, the New York Times* documented how Providence hired McKinsey & Company to help “wring money out of patients, even those eligible for free care,” prompting the State of Washington to file a lawsuit against Providence.

To the settle the lawsuit, Providence agreed to: 

  • Forgive $137.2 million in medical debt
  • Refund patients $20.6 million
  • Provide debt refunds or refunds to 99,446 patients

*As reported by

"In interviews, patients… who qualified for free care said they had been charged thousands of dollars and then harassed by collection agents. Many saw their credit scores ruined. Others had to cut back on groceries to pay what Providence claimed they owed."
Harriet Haffner-Ratliffe, 20, gave birth to twins at a Providence hospital in Olympia, Wash., in 2017. She was eligible under state law for charity care. Providence did not inform her… One day, her boyfriend walked into their apartment and found her surrounded by bills, crying. When she fell behind on the payments, Providence dispatched a debt collector to pursue her.
“I felt a little betrayed,” said Bev Kolpin, 57, who had worked as a sonogram technician at a Providence hospital in Oregon. Then she went on unpaid leave to have surgery to remove a cyst. The hospital billed her $8,000 even though she was eligible for discounted care, she said. “I had worked for them and given them so much, and they didn’t give me anything.”
“And, as Providence illustrates, some hospital systems have not only reduced their emphasis on providing free care to the poor but also developed elaborate systems to convert needy patients into sources of revenue. The result, in the case of Providence, is that thousands of poor patients were saddled with debts that they never should have owed, The Times found”
"Previously, when treating patients who were on Medicaid, Providence eventually waived any outstanding portion of their bill. In 2019, Providence stopped doing that. Medicaid patients were sent to debt collectors instead."

The Headlines

Organizing To Victory!

The surest way to make Providence do right by its workers and patients is through worker power. Over the past decade, California-based Providence workers, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, have protected jobs, halted Providence’s expansion and won big raises.

Are you a Providence worker? Organize with NUHW!

I support Providence workers who are fighting for a contract that will keep healthcare services in their communities and safely staff Providence hospitals and hospice programs.