Dr. Mark Valentine doesn’t exactly make house calls, but his visits to care facilities deliver more than medical expertise.
“He’ll come in on his weekend, or after he’s seen patients in his office,” said Lynn Berry, a nurse practitioner with Bethany of the Northwest who specializes in care of the elderly. “He’s so kind and gentle, especially with our residents with dementia. He’s great.”
A longtime Everett dermatologist, Valentine was honored Wednesday at Bethany of the Northwest Foundation’s fundraising breakfast. He received the 2015 Raili M. Hanson Inspirational Award during the event at the downtown Everett Holiday Inn.
Valentine, 67, said he was “totally shocked” when Bethany CEO Denney Austin called him to say he had been chosen for the award. The doctor recalled his reaction: “It must be some mistake — I haven’t done anything.”
“His answer was, ‘You’ve been going to nursing homes for 36 years,’” Valentine said.
Berry said it’s not unusual for primary care doctors to make rounds at Bethany’s Everett area facilities. “But for a specialist, that is very unusual,” said Berry, who has worked with Bethany patients for more than 25 years.
When people in the agency’s care get referrals to see a dermatologist or other specialist, it can be difficult to get them to the doctors’ offices. “For people with dementia or mobility problems, it’s so stressful for them,” Berry said. Valentine has done bedside biopsies, removed lesions and provided other care without patients having to leave familiar surroundings, she said.
The doctor is a friendly face at nursing homes in Everett and Marysville. “I don’t recognize everybody, but they recognize me,” Valentine said.
The foundation enhances the work of Bethany of the Northwest, providing money for items that patients in care facilities need through a program called the Dignity Project.
A nonprofit founded in 1931, Bethany of the Northwest was originally Bethany Home for the Aged, housed in Everett’s old Bethania College. It now provides nursing care, physical rehabilitation services, assisted living and senior apartments at several Everett-area sites.
There are Bethany facilities on several floors of the Providence Regional Medical Center Everett’s Pacific Campus and in the Silver Lake area. Residents are mostly low-income seniors relying on Medicare or Medicaid.
Bethany’s mission was close to the heart of the late Raili Hanson, a faithful volunteer who served on the foundation’s board. The annual award was created in 2011 in memory of Hanson, who died the previous year. She was the wife of former Herald publisher Larry Hanson, and spent her career as a nurse in Everett General Hospital’s mother-baby unit.
“She just loved Bethany,” Larry Hanson said. “It was fun to see the sparkle in her eye when she worked on Bethany projects.” The award “is a wonderful way to keep her spirit alive,” he said.
Hanson said both his mother and his wife’s parents were Valentine’s patients over the years, and that the doctor indeed made house calls.
“We couldn’t have picked a better person to receive this award,” said Ken Hammond, the foundation’s director of development.
Valentine, who lives in Mukilteo with his wife, Michelle, is a past president of the Rotary Club of Everett.
A collector of antiquarian books, he owns hundreds of medical volumes and is adept in bookbinding and restoration.
A guitarist, too, he once played in a rock band called Hans and Franz.
“Dr. Valentine does deserve kudos for all that he does,” Berry said.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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