He has been with MultiCare Health System since 2017, holding multiple leadership roles, including president of MultiCare Pulse Heart Institute and COO of Deaconess Hospital.
Mr. Hunt succeeds Greg Repetti, who retired in October 2024 after a 42-year healthcare career.
Mr. Hunt outlined his approach to making patient transfers easier, reducing length of stay to free up capacity, and improving care access.
Editor’s note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What are your top priorities for Deaconess and Valley hospitals as you step into this role?
Wade Hunt: Access — patients being able to get into our hospitals, being able to be discharged from our hospitals in a timely and easy fashion. I also think about how to make it easy to do business with us — to make it super convenient. And then we want patients in Spokane to have a great experience as they enter our facilities so that we continue to be an asset in the community.
Q: Are there any specific initiatives you plan to implement to enhance patient care and operational efficiency at MultiCare?
WH: We’re surrounded by a lot of critical access hospitals. I think about these smaller communities that are facing capacity surges. How do we make it easier for them to transfer patients to us? Making sure they have a one-call opportunity to do that.
To make that happen, we have to focus on things like length of stay so we can free up bed capacity and do so in the right way. We really want to ensure that we’re discharging people in the proper time frame — not too early, so they don’t come back, but also efficiently enough so that people can access the higher acuity services we provide.
On the topic of access, I also think about labor. How do we continue to retain and recruit top talent? One of my priorities is creating an environment where people love to come and give care at Valley and Deaconess. We had some challenges with labor last year, so we’re really trying to build a culture where people love working here. They feel like they’re part of a team, part of a larger vision that’s essential to the community.
And then I also think about growth — what does the community need in different areas? In my time as the president of Pulse Heart Institute, we had the opportunity to evaluate community needs and what we weren’t providing. We looked at things like hybrid rooms — either creating them or refurbishing them.
Right now, Pulse is undergoing four different hybrid room projects across the state, all at different stages of development. One just got completed at Deaconess, which allows us to expand access, grow a service line, and do some unique things in the market.
I think about taking that knowledge and skill set from Pulse and applying it here — getting out into the communities, meeting patients where they are, and ensuring that facilities like our off-campus emergency department north of these campuses offer the same experience and access as all our facilities.
Q: How do you plan to strengthen physician relationships and community partnerships to support MultiCare’s mission in the Inland Northwest?
WH: Our mission says it right there: “Partnering for healing and a healthy future.” And partnering can mean a lot of different things.
How do we partner with outside groups to ensure they have an experience where they want to refer their patients to us? I talked about critical access hospitals — how do we partner with them in different ways? Are there technology platforms that allow them to care for more patients in their own facilities?
It’s also about strengthening relationships. We have a great provider community in Spokane, and we want to enhance and build that. Pulse is primarily a large-provider platform — we manage inpatient and outpatient services — and one thing I’ve learned is that every provider has the same drive: to take care of patients and do it well.
So part of our work is eliminating barriers and frustrations for providers — making sure they feel supported so they can focus on patient care. That applies to our own employed physicians, independent community physicians, and, ultimately, our patients.
Another important piece is post-acute care partnerships. I mentioned length of stay earlier — well, a key component of that is working with post-acute facilities to ensure patients transition to the right level of care efficiently.
Q: What long-term goals do you have for MultiCare’s presence and impact in the Spokane region?
WH: I want MultiCare Deaconess and Valley hospitals to be the place where people want to get care — no matter what they need, whether it’s a procedure or treatment for a medical condition.
We’ve been on a great journey with behavioral health over the past few years. The previous leadership team secured a $6 million grant to build an inpatient behavioral health unit — at least 20 beds. That grant helps set the stage to prioritize what the community needs, but additional funding will be necessary to ensure it happens.
That’s just one example, but it reflects our commitment to serving the community. I want Deaconess and Valley to be not just the places where patients choose to receive care, but also where caregivers want to work because of the culture, care and experience we offer.
