Monroe hospital to change name, expand services in new alliance

MONROE — Now it’s official. A ceremony scheduled Monday afternoon will formally mark the change in both name and business affiliation for Valley General Hospital.

The Monroe hospital will now be known as EvergreenHealth Monroe. It also signifies the final step in a business agreement to make the hospital part of Kirkland-based EvergreenHealth.

The Monroe hospital is joining a health care organization with nearly 4,000 full- and part-time employees. Its 278-bed tax-supported hospital, EvergreenHealth Medical Center, is located on its Kirkland campus. The organization also operates urgent and primary care facilities in Canyon Park, Duvall, Kenmore, Redmond, Sammamish and Woodinville.

Evergreen plans to begin offering new services this year in Monroe, said Bob Malte, chief executive for EvergreenHealth. These include a 24-hour nurse hot line; 3-D mammography services provided in a van that will periodically make trips to Monroe and Sultan this spring; and hiring an additional obstetrician to provide prenatal services, he said. The organization also is recruiting at least two more primary care physicians to work in east Snohomish County, Malte said.

The Monroe and Kirkland emergency rooms will be more integrated with technology so “when a person goes to the Monroe emergency department or to Kirkland or Redmond, they can be confident of the same service,” Malte said.

Monroe physicians will be able to use telemedicine services, or a television-like connection using the Internet, so that specialists at other EvergreenHealth sites can confer with doctors in Monroe. Specialists such as neurologists and cardiologists are scheduled to be available via the telemedicine link by year’s end, he said.

A decision on whether to restart baby delivery services in Monroe, which ended in 2011, is expected later this year.

Malte said he plans to launch a community advisory group in Monroe to serve as advisers to the hospital board and management.

The Monroe hospital’s affiliation with EvergreenHealth follows years of financial instability. In 2013, Valley General lost $6 million. Last year’s losses were far smaller, $443,000, helped in part by voter approval in 2013 of a tax increase from 14 cents to 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.

This year, the Monroe hospital is projecting a net operating profit of $1 million, which will be used to invest in other hospital programs, said Kay Taylor, an EvergreenHealth spokeswoman.

The money will be used to make sure “that facility is there for the long haul and that technology gets added as well,” Malte said.

Fairfax Hospital, which operates an in-patient mental health facility in Kirkland, will open a 34-bed adult psychiatric unit in the Monroe hospital by fall. The $2.4 million unit is to offer programs for geriatric patients, dual-diagnosis patients such as those with addiction and psychiatric problems and patients either voluntarily or involuntarily hospitalized for psychiatric treatment. That unit is expected to employ 50 people.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Event

An event to mark the formal name change of Valley General Hospital and its affiliation with EvergreenHealth in Kirkland is scheduled from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. March 2 in the Monroe hospital’s lobby. The hospital is at 14701 179th Ave. S.E.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.