Monica Olden, 64, has always enjoyed an active life, including regular long-distance runs. That was put on hold in 2023, when she had a severe heart attack and ended up with at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Ore. in need of a heart transplant.
“I didn’t even know I’d had a heart attack,” said Olden, of Battle Ground, Wash. “I was living my life, even going to work, but I felt like I was coming down with pneumonia.”
Olden went to an urgent care clinic, where testing revealed her heart attack. She was sent to a hospital in Vancouver, Wash., where she was then airlifted to Providence St. Vincent.
“They rushed me into surgery and implanted a pump,” Olden remembered. “I was told that my blood was flowing the wrong way and I had a 4-centimeter hole in my heart. They decided they couldn’t repair it, so I needed a transplant.”
She was at Providence St. Vincent for two months and received her new heart on Sept. 14, 2023. Today, she’s back to running, although she tires easier now than before she had the transplant.
“I can’t say enough about the care I received,” Olden said. “I get choked up every time I talk about my experience at St. Vincent. They’re superheroes — all the doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, environmental services, all of them. I felt like a queen, really.”
Olden is one of 94 people to receive a new heart at Providence Heart Institute of Oregon, on the campus of Providence St. Vincent. At 150 years old this year, Providence St. Vincent is the oldest hospital in Oregon and one of the oldest across the western U.S.
The Sisters of Providence initially opened the hospital just north of what would become downtown Portland. Today, the 539-bed facility is west of downtown Portland, at the intersection of two of the metro area’s busiest freeways. The hospital employs more than 5,000 caregivers, sees more births than any other hospital across Oregon and has the busiest emergency department of all Portland-area hospitals.
U.S. News & World Report named Providence St. Vincent as the Portland Metro Best Regional Hospital in 20 Types of Care for 2025-26, as well as High Performing Hospital honors for 20 specialties.
Over the years, Providence St. Vincent has become known for its heart, stroke and neurological and cancer services. These include:
- A full array of neurosurgical services
- Providence Gynecologic Oncologists specialists are experts both in cancer treatments and surgeries
Meanwhile, Providence St. Vincent’s long and storied history of providing high-quality, compassionate care to the community has attracted some of the most talented caregivers and executives from across the nation.
Ray Moreno, M.D., Providence St. Vincent’s chief executive, joined the hospital’s Emergency Department physician group from another area hospital after hearing from fellow physicians about the community culture and experience at St. Vincent. He worked as an ED physician for nearly 20 years before transitioning to leadership roles within the hospital.
“Though I was very happy where I was, the ‘mythical place’ I heard about pulled at me,” Moreno said. “It didn’t take many shifts in the St. Vincent ED before I concluded, ‘Oh, I get it. It’s not just a place. It’s a culture.’”
Moreno said he’s observed new caregivers inherit and improve on the culture and traditions from the generations before them.
“Even with the ever-increasing complexity and challenges of modern health care, I don’t think there are many better places to give or receive care,” he said.
Olden echoed that sentiment.
“The nurses call the surgeons by their first names, which I think is unheard of,” she said. “And the doctors listen to the nurses’ ideas. They’re such a tight unit, the vibe is so healing. I’ve had a lot of hospital situations with my relatives, and I’ve never seen such a warm, friendly environment where everyone cares so much about you.”
Commitment to the surrounding communities is one reason Providence St. Vincent has been caring for patients for 150 years. In 2023, the hospital invested nearly $101 million to improve community health — about a third of Providence’s total community health investment across Oregon in 2023.
The community strongly supports the hospital as well, continuing the tradition of the Sisters of Providence, who raised every dollar needed to build the first Providence St. Vincent hospital in Portland in 1875.
“Providence St. Vincent is in the middle of our community,” said Nancy Bryant, a trustee of the Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation. “We are the community. And I think it’s the medical foundation that helps keep the hospital so connected with our community and the patients we serve.”
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