Philanthropy is answering Portland's call for better, faster local health care
Providence Oregon's chief executive, Jennifer Burrows, RN, MBA, talked with us about the complex pressures facing health care organizations across the nation and the substantive difference donors make through their generosity.
Philanthropic support of emergency and cardiac care as part of the Tomorrow Starts Today Campaign continues to be critical to improving access to health care for more people in our community by supporting projects that would otherwise not be funded.
Why is donor support for health care so important to Providence?
Many hospitals across the nation, including Providence, have had annual operational shortfalls since the pandemic. Rising costs associated with supplies, pharmaceuticals and labor outpace reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare. On top of all that, today we are facing government funding uncertainties, and so donor support is even more crucial.
As we make strategic decisions, we remain focused on our patients and fulfilling our mission to provide compassionate care to all, with an intentional focus on the most vulnerable. Philanthropy helps fund innovative treatments and technologies, patient assistance programs and caregiver support. Donor support also makes capital improvements possible.
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Why was the Tomorrow Starts Today Campaign launched?
Oregon's population continues to increase, and more people are aging into the years when they use health care the most. We have a growing number of patients with complex health issues who require longer hospital stays. Visits to our emergency departments are more frequent, which increases wait times. These changes are also increasing pressures on our caregivers, who are further stressed by the shrinking health care workforce. Additionally, we have a real need to invest in our infrastructure requirements for today and into the next decade.
Our response was to re-imagine how care was provided — to expand and innovate for both patients and caregivers. To do this, we needed community support. When we announced our campaign in May 2024, our aim was to raise $144 million to support $177 million in capital improvements. It was ambitious — the largest campaign in Providence Oregon's history — and it was necessary to meet these burgeoning needs.
How do the projects funded through Tomorrow Starts Today benefit Oregonians?
In 2024, our emergency departments at Providence St. Vincent and Providence Portland supported more than 150,000 patient visits — a number that continues to increase rapidly. At these two hospitals, we're introducing new systems and processes and adding 53 new spaces. This is the equivalent to creating a brand new emergency department in Portland. It will allow us to provide care for an additional 50,000 patient visits each year.
Providence Heart Institute is a national destination for complex cardiac care and the largest provider in the region — caring for almost 10,000 patients with advanced heart failure. The number of days patients spend in our cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) is expected to double by 2031.
To meet this demand, we're building a heart hub on one floor of Providence St. Vincent for cardiac patients. This innovative plan co-locates procedure rooms, recovery units, a remodeled CICU and operating rooms so that caregivers will be within steps of patients at all times.
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What changes will people find now, and what's still to come?
Because of the outpouring of support from donors, our campaign goal is in reach. To date, they have generously given $128.5 million toward our $144 million goal, which has kept this multi-year construction project on schedule.
The first phase of construction at Providence Heart Institute includes electrophysiology labs and the interventional unit. The construction of new surgery rooms and the renovation of the CICU will follow and is expected to be finished in 2027.
Providence St. Vincent's emergency department renovation and expansion is complete. An arrival zone, flexible treatment and behavioral health rooms, pediatrics area and stroke response room provide emergency response teams with the tools they need to address our community's needs more quickly.
Across the river at Providence Portland's emergency department, 20 new treatment spaces on the second floor are now complete. Construction has begun on the main floor — which will create seven additional treatment spaces, including flexible behavioral health rooms, updated triage booths, a new ambulance bay and updated nursing stations. All are expected to be completed by summer 2026.
I'm so grateful for donors' generosity, and I'm immensely proud of what we've been able to do together. When this is done, we'll have reimagined emergency and cardiac procedural care to meet the needs of today and tomorrow.
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