Everett hospital expands its name to reflect broader area

Published 11:36 pm Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Everett’s hospital has a new name: Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.

The name change was announced Monday and operators will begin answering the phone with the new name today.

The change was made in the hope that it will better reflect the area the hospital serves, said spokeswoman Cheri Russum.

“We’re serving much more than just Everett,” Russum said. The hospital draws patients from five counties: Snohomish, Island, Skagit Whatcom and San Juan, she said.

Its emergency room is one of the busiest in the state. Last year, it treated about 103,000 patients, more than the number of patients treated at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, she said.

The name change has been under consideration for about six months. It involves changes to everything from stationery to employee identification badges, hospitals signs and a new logo, Russum said.

It follows an earlier change in the name of its Seattle-based parent organization, now called Providence Health Services.

The Everett hospital has had a series of name changes since two formerly independent hospitals, Providence Hospital and General Hospital Medical Center, merged in 1994.

Following the merger, the hospital, with its two main campuses, was known as Providence General Medical Center.

In January 2000, the hospital changed its name to Providence Everett Medical Center.

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