This spring, the cherry trees blooming along Fifteenth Avenue will add more than a little color to what was formerly the Providence Campus of Swedish Medical Center. The hospital recently announced plans to re-name the campus, located at the crest of Cherry Street, "Cherry Hill" in order to fulfill a recent request by the Sisters of Providence that the name be removed from use at all Swedish-owned facilities.

Residents of the Family Medicine Program were saddened by the news, but realize the change was inevitable after the sale of the hospital to Swedish in 2000. The Providence name has long carried with it echoes of the Healing Mission of the Sisters of Providence, a tradition which formed the foundation of the Residency's commitment to serve the poor and underserved residents of inner city Seattle. The Mission still finds its expression in the work the residency does every day to train physicians for service in underserved communities all over the globe. As one third year resident put it, "they can call us whatever they want. The Mission will continue to live in the hearts of the people who work and train here."