Northwest Hospital & Medical Center is a 281-bed hospital in Seattle, Washington. On September 17, 2009, it announced that as of January 1, 2010 it would become part of UW Medicine, associated with the University of Washington. UW Medicine also includes University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, the UW School of Medicine and several smaller entities. Prior to the merger, a 1997 agreement had already made Northwest the home for a UW Medicine cardiac surgery program.