Cascade Valley, Skagit Valley hospitals join forces

SMOKEY POINT — The recognized strength and efficiency of health-care industry mergers is proving itself once again with the opening of the new Cascade Skagit Health Alliance medical center at in Arlington.

Built on the north side of 172nd Street NE, east of Smokey Point Boulevard, the two-story facility opened last month to provide a broader range of health-care services for a growing and aging population in north Snohomish County.

Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics of Arlington and Skagit Valley Hospital of Mount Vernon in Skagit County built the $12.2 million medical center. Andy Hall of Botesch, Nash &Hall in Everett was the architect, and Synergy Construction Co. of Woodinville was the general contractor.

Rapid growth in the area in recent years made a former physicians’ clinic space at Smokey Point, in the Cumulus Office Park on Smokey Point Boulevard, a cramped space for medical staff.

With more than 31,000 patient visits a year at the clinic, staff had to function in 9,000 square feet of space. Moving to the new 42,000-square-foot facility provides much-needed room that accommodates additional staff, services and state-of-the-art medical equipment.

“This is a full-service ambulatory facility that also offers urgent care, extensive lab and imaging facilities and will also bring occupational therapy back to the community, a service that’s been missing for some time,” said Clark Jones, CEO of Cascade Valley Hospital and Clinics.

“Working with Skagit Valley Hospital, we’ll have specialists from there, too, as well as more Cascade Valley primary-care physicians, reconstructive surgery and, later on, even neurology,” he said. “We bought this land around 2003, knowing someday we’d need a larger clinic here. There’s space for up to 30 physicians and medical staff, although we won’t open with quite that many.”

The new center also offers patient access to cardiologists and Skagit Valley Hospital’s cancer-care service, which has been located at Cascade Hospital for several years, Jones said.

Gregg Davidson, CEO of Skagit Valley Hospital, described the new health-care center as “a positive step forward for providing primary and specialized medical services. We’ve been working together with Cascade Valley Hospital for several years and have close relationships with them, which is a real advantage that helps us to provide better health care.”

For several years, Skagit Valley Hospital has had specialists working in the Arlington area, Davidson noted. The new facility will introduce cardiologists, gastroenterology specialists and other sub-specialties that haven’t been available in the area before.

“It’s really a win-win situation for patients of both organizations. This is a beautiful, state-of-the-art facility,” Davidson said.

The latest diagnostic imaging services, including MRI, X-ray, CT and ultrasound, will be available, along with a laboratory, urgent-care services and a branch of the Arlington Pharmacy.

Jones said the facility will have electronic medical-records storage and indexing so physicians in the new facility, the clinics and the two hospitals will have immediate access to patients’ information through a secure network.

The new facility, open seven days a week, has 58 primary-care exam rooms and 10 rooms for walk-in patients, compared to only 17 exam rooms at the Cumulus Office Park facility.

More about Snohomish County business: snohomishcounty businessjournal.com

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

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.