AN agreement between the University of Washingtons medical system and Catholic-sponsored PeaceHealth should not be mistaken for a merger. Mergers between secular and religious hospitals, which often dont provide abortion care or end-of-life services, has been a trend that threatens to make those services harder to access.

The mission of the proposed strategic affiliation between UW Medicine and PeaceHealth is noble and deserves a chance to work. Together they wrote off a combined $425 million in charity care last year.

But many questions remain.

In the era of health-care reform, academic institutions like UW Medicine rely on partnerships to advance science, train the next generation of health-care providers and improve patient outcomes. Community hospitals like PeaceHealth need a place to send patients for care they arent able to provide.

As the organizations codifythe terms of an informal network, they should also work to ease tensions and answer the concerns of many in the communities they serve.

How will they reconcile inherent differences in their missions? UW Medicine offers the full spectrum of health services. PeaceHealth limits abortion care and prohibits end-of-life services within its facilities.

Will UW students be trained to provide comprehensive care in PeaceHealth settings? If not, where will that learning occur?

What is PeaceHealths relationship with the Catholic church? The letter of intent makes no mention of religion. Ignoring this important affiliation on paper invites suspicion.

Are there long-term implications? The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington warns similar agreements have led to hospitals being taken over by Catholic organizations. Though PeaceHealth is independent today, its officials negotiated with the more conservative Catholic Health Initiatives to blend operations. Talks were suspended in April, but critics are leery of their public pledge to strengthen their respective ministries in the Pacific Northwest.

Maximum transparency and clarity would strengthen the UW Medicine-PeaceHealth affiliation and help them fulfill the greater goal of building a healthy community.

Read more:

Editorial: Noble motives behind UW Medicine-PeaceHealth partnership