Evergreen Health tells Redmond council it has new Seattle Children’s joint venture, warns of Medicaid funding risks

Evergreen Health executives updated the Redmond City Council on July 1 on the health system’s Eastside services, announcing a joint venture with Seattle Children’s to expand pediatric and neonatal care and warning of financial pressure if state and federal safety-net funding changes.

The presentation by Chris Brittison, Evergreen Health’s chief operating and strategy officer, outlined the system’s local footprint, quality ratings and the “economic situation” facing Washington hospitals. “Our mission is to advance the health of our community,” Brittison told council members, repeating a phrase he said guides the district’s investments and outreach.

Nut graf: The public hospital emphasized both service capacity and financial vulnerability. Brittison said Evergreen serves a roughly 1 million-person service area on the Eastside (about 330,000 in its taxing district), operates 354 licensed beds — the largest public hospital in Washington — and runs multiple clinics and a freestanding emergency department in Redmond. At the same time, he warned that state and federal funding changes, including uncertainty over a safety-net assessment tied to Medicaid payments, create revenue risk that could force future trade-offs.

Evergreen described service details and recent recognition: it reported about 4,500 births a year in its system and said it holds an A safety grade from Leapfrog (13 consecutive semesters) and a five-star Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services rating for nine straight years. Brittison framed those measures as results-based and credited clinicians for the performance.

Brittison said Evergreen relies in part on a property-tax levy that has declined in effective rate from earlier decades; the district levy is currently about $0.14 per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $0.75 in 1972 because of rising property values and statutory levy limits, he said. He said levy proceeds were used in 2024 to fund roughly $6.2 million of youth mental-health services embedded in Lake Washington and Northshore school districts, along with community health navigation and palliative care programs.

On partnerships, Brittison announced a newly closed joint venture with Seattle Children’s to expand pediatric inpatient services and NICU capacity on the Eastside. “Today, you’re the first ones to hear this,” he told the council, adding that Seattle Children’s specialists will provide consults and some specialists on-site to keep more pediatric care on the East Side rather than transferring children to Seattle.

Council members and the mayor asked about potential city partnerships and the hospital’s capacity for community clinics. Brittison said Evergreen is open to collaborating with local community health initiatives and that the district’s levy authority is one capital advantage for a public hospital. He also said Evergreen is watching federal and state policy closely; he named a safety-net assessment program that helped stabilize hospital revenues last year but said its future is uncertain.

On workforce issues, Brittison said the use of temporary “traveler” nurses has decreased while demand for some technical positions remains elevated; he told Council Member Slahuddin that travel-nurse rates are coming down. In response to Council Member Stewart’s question, Brittison said Evergreen’s reproductive and gender-affirming services remain unchanged: “Nothing has changed for us.”

The presentation included an overview of recent local hospital consolidations and a slide showing Evergreen’s community investments such as sponsorships and school-based mental health. Brittison closed by saying the health district will “be looking at some options around our levy” in the future and pointed the public to evergreenhealth.com for updates.

Ending: Council members thanked Evergreen for the annual briefing and asked staff to share the slide deck for public viewing. The council did not take any formal action on the presentation itself.