MultiCare buys Yakima hospital

MultiCare Health System announced Friday that it has purchased Yakima Valley Memorial, which is Yakima’s only hospital.

The 226-bed facility and other specialty care services, will become part of MultiCare in 2023 and its new name will become MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital.

“Yakima Valley Memorial has provided quality patient care to the Yakima Valley for 72 years,” said Carole Peet, CEO of Memorial.

“We are excited to join MultiCare and look forward to what our combined resources will offer the people of the Yakima Valley.”

Headquartered in Tacoma, MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care system that has been caring for Pacific Northwest communities since 1882. It is the largest locally governed health system in the state, and its network of care includes 11 hospitals and hundreds of clinics in both the Puget Sound and Inland Northwest regions.

U.S. deficit sees record drop

The U.S. budget deficit saw a record reduction for the 2022 financial year, a second-straight annual drop that reflects the drying up of COVID-related aid spending alongside a surge in revenue propelled by wage and employment gains.

The deficit for the fiscal year through September narrowed to $1.38 trillion, from a revised $2.78 trillion the previous year, according to U.S. Treasury Department data released Friday.

The deficit reduction came even after the Treasury accounted for President Joe Biden’s move to forgive a swath of student loans.

From staff and wire reportsThe department said loan modifications had a $430 billion impact on the month of September, a sharp increase from the $137 billion recognition of such costs in September 2021.

The Treasury said that it didn’t anticipate further such large-scale hits to the budget from the loan-forgiveness move in subsequent months.