King County Superior Court Judge Michael Hayden ruled the alliance between Seattle-based UW Medicine and Valley Medical Center in Renton, Wash., is permitted under state law.
VMC and UW Medicine formed a strategic alliance in June 2011, after VMC’s five-member board voted to enter the agreement. After the agreement, Paul Ramsey, MD, CEO of UW Medicine, appointed eight additional individuals to VMC’s board, bringing the total to 13.
Public Hospital District 1, which operates VMC, filed the lawsuit. The district claimed elected district commissioners could not delegate legislative responsibilities for a public hospital to board members who had not been elected, according to the report.
Judge Hayden also “alluded to the possibility of an appeal,” according to the report.
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