About 80 jobs at stake as Providence announces Lacey distribution center will close

A distribution center in Hawks Prairie that delivered medical supplies for Providence St. Joseph Health — the parent organization to Providence St. Peter Hospital — will close, the health system announced Tuesday.

The distribution center, known as the Consolidated Service Center, employed about 80. It wasn’t immediately clear when the center will close, although Providence expects to be using a similar company called Medline by February 2019.

Medline Industries also operates a distribution center in Hawks Prairie and has previously worked with Providence, according to a news release.

“We regularly assess and adjust what services and partnerships we offer to best serve our communities,” Providence spokesman Chris Thomas said in a statement. “After careful consideration, this decision fit with our overall long-term strategic goals.”

Although 80 jobs are at stake, Providence said most workers have found employment with Medline.

An employee, who asked not to be named on Tuesday, said the news was “sad and a lot of people are affected.”

“We’re continuing to make efforts to find placement within our own organization to limit overall impact,” Thomas said in a statement about jobs.

Medline Industries built a 700,000-square-foot warehouse on Hogum Bay Road Northeast.

This story was originally published October 23, 2018 at 4:51 PM.