Providence Receives $1.1 Bn Commitment for Cardiac Care and Oregon’s First Women’s Hospital

The commitment comes from billionaire Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny, who have already contributed $200 million to the Providence Heart Institute over the past decade.

Providence announced Tuesday that it has received a $1.1 billion philanthropic commitment to support its flagship Oregon medical center, expand cardiovascular care services and establish the state’s first women’s hospital.

The commitment comes from billionaire Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny, who have already contributed $200 million to the Providence Heart Institute over the past decade.

The upcoming women’s hospital will be located at the 539-bed Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, which also houses the Heart Institute. The project will bring “hundreds” of new clinical and non-clinical positions, Providence said.

The initiative will add a new neonatal intensive care unit and recovery spaces while enhancing care coordination and multidisciplinary collaboration across the medical campus.

“Providence St. Vincent has long been a trusted destination for maternity care, delivering more babies than any other hospital in the state,” Ray Moreno, M.D., chief executive for Providence St. Vincent, said. “We’re also known for our cardiology program and other specialized services for women.”

For the Providence Heart Institute, which sees nearly 63,000 patients per year, the commitment will support the development of new cardiovascular treatments and cardiac imaging. It will also expand the portfolio of clinical trials available to patients and support the recruitment of physician leaders, according to Dan Oseran, M.D., the institute’s executive medical director.

Providence said the funding will also help the medical center enhance care services and technology and develop additional patient support initiatives.

Phil and Penny Knight have been active philanthropists in Oregon’s healthcare community. Last year, the couple pledged $2 billion to the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, to which they had previously directed hundreds of millions of dollars.

The donation was substantial enough for the institute to transition to a self-governed entity under the university, leading to the Knight Cancer Group, which helps manage OHSU’s cancer services.

Providence has not yet announced a timeline for the opening of the new women’s hospital.

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