Our History
Pacific Medical Centers has an amazing history! Built in 1933, the historic Beacon Hill Tower was the first U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Hospital in the Seattle area. Over the years, as the demands in healthcare changed, the U.S. PHS Hospital metamorphosed and eventually became a public development authority (PDA) in 1981. The PDA was a new type of organization that was part private and part public. Also in 1981, the physicians created the state’s first physician-governed group practice calling it Pacific Health Associates of Seattle, or PHASE.
In the mid 1980’s Pacific Medical Centers began to expand its primary care role and purchased several outpatient clinics in the Seattle area. Also, at this time the PDA and PHASE funded a health maintenance organization (HMO) called Pacific Health. The Pacific Health plan started enrolling patients in March of 1985.
Again, in 1987 Pacific Medical Centers changed when it closed its hospital doors to focus on its managed care plan and to contract with other major health plans in the region. In 1995 Pacific Medical Centers sold Pacific Health, its HMO product, to concentrate on developing a strong network of outpatient clinics throughout the region.
Today, Pacific Medical Centers is a multi-specialty medical group with 9 clinics in the Puget Sound area. The Pacific Medical Centers network is one of the largest throughout the Puget Sound and offers patients more than 168 providers for primary and specialty care. Pacific Medical Centers staff look forward to providing excellent care to the clinically and culturally diverse population they serve.
Our Culture
Pacific Medical Centers has a unique and special culture. Pacific Medical Centers’ culture focuses around its mission of delivering quality health care to a diverse patient population and working as a partner to improve the quality of our community. Employees fulfill this mission by creating a strong patient and service-focused team environment.