Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia has grown its outpatient cardiology team to 12 board-certified cardiologists and nine advanced practice providers.

The upgrades, announced in a Providence news release published on July 19, mean the 390-bed hospital can now handle more catheter-based procedures, including angiograms, angioplasties, stenting, and structural heart operations such as congenital repairs and valve replacements.

Dr. John Waggoner, cardiologist and medical director of Providence Cardiology Associates, said in the release that the expanded team pairs each cardiologist with an advanced practice provider in what he called a "dyad" model.

The structure is meant to shorten wait times for appointments and allow collaborative treatment planning.

The hospital has not disclosed how many of the 21 cardiology-team positions are new hires versus existing employees.

The numbers

The hospital's four original cath labs are the highest-volume interventional rooms in Washington state, according to the release.

Providence has not cited an independent source for that claim.

Providence Health & Services is Thurston County's largest private employer, with roughly 2,100 workers countywide, according to the Thurston Regional Planning Council's 2024 estimates.

Providence St. Peter also employs four vascular surgeons with a combined 45-plus years of experience, supported by two physician assistants with more than 25 years of combined experience.

In 2025, three of those surgeons performed more than 700 cases, ranging from ruptured aortic aneurysm repairs to carotid endarterectomies, according to the release.

What's next

Construction of an updated interventional radiology biplane room is scheduled to begin in fall 2026, with completion expected by the second quarter of 2027.

The suite will serve the vascular, neurology, and radiology teams.

An electrophysiology hybrid room is also planned, though Providence has not announced a timeline.

Darin Goss, chief executive of Providence Swedish South Puget Sound, said in the release that investing in new technology and expanding capacity at the hospital's oldest cath lab will allow the facility to care for more patients.