Rolf Boone reports in The Olympian:
"The parent group of Olympia’s Providence St. Peter Hospital is set to cut 8 percent of its work force as part of an effort to close a $28 million gap in its 2011 budget, the chief executive of the medical network said this week in a memo to employees.

The budget gap is the result of cuts to Medicaid and other state-funded health care cuts, according to Providence Health & Services, Southwest Washington region.

Job cuts at the regional medical network, which includes Providence Centralia Hospital and Providence Medical Group, amount to 250 full-time-equivalent positions."

"Providence Health & Services, Southwest Washington, employs 3,539 people; Providence St. Peter Hospital employs 2,366."