Pros
I cannot imagine a career more fulfilling than being a family physician. I loved my career. I trained at Swedish and worked for the organization for 20 years. Providence aligned with Swedish January 1, 2013 and from that day forward held the real power. I learned of that power the hard way. I am a popular and well respected physician who became seriously ill. The organization is a non-profit with a faith based status. A church with a mission. This means they are exempt from paying taxes and from all federal and state oversight. They are also self-insured. When I became seriously ill they offered us one insurance plan which was administered by a third-party that they had financial interest in. My diagnosis and treatment were substantially delayed because they provide health insurance to their employees that can violate the standard of care due to this lack of oversight. I endured 2 separate federally mandated external appeals for health services. I won both appeals because their violations were obvious but it was too little too late. The organization put a cap on my medical leave and terminated me without knowing details of my diagnosis or prognosis only that it was uncertain when the cap time arrived. When I learned that I was going to be terminated I requested a payout of my remaining sick and vacation hours which was declined. I requested the opportunity to write a letter to my patients which they consider THEIR patients to ease their transition and reassure them after 17 years together. I offered to donate my time to extend a 15 minute opportunity to my patients and their families to help with this transition and have closure. I did not want my patients to feel abandoned. I felt this was especially important for the most vulnerable like the elderly, disabled, mentally ill, and the children. I was informed by HR that these requests could not be accommodated. The organization failed in their duty to inform those patients of this substantial change in their health care for 5 months and 28 days. Furthermore, the letter they did send was dishonest. This delay matters because there were patients who delayed seeking treatment because they were awaiting my return. I know for a fact that there are patients that felt abandoned by me when I did everything I could to try to prevent that feeling.
Cons
My journey through illness as a seriously ill physician employed by Swedish medical group under the affiliation of Providence Health Services was a true nightmare. HR, leadership, and third-party vendors stonewalled me. My amazing physicians attempted to go to bat for me but were told to stay out of it. I tried to file grievances and sent requests for help and information to the identified leaders that I was told to report to. Radio silence is their method of retaliation, discrimination and harassment. They are a non-profit organization (with an $8 billion bank roll) so despite reaching for help from The USDOL, EBSA, and The Washington State Insurance commissioner, I got nowhere. They are completely exempt. The advocate at the USDOL explained she has been bringing violations to their attention for 10 years and is met with a group of attorneys who she states will puff up their chests and tell her to go pound sand.
