Providence relies on philanthropy for county’s only forensic nursing center

EVERETT — When Zadki Avila was seeking support while experiencing domestic violence, she turned to the Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse.

There, staff members helped her go through the court process and begin therapy.

“Back at that time, I was super scared and scared about my life,” Avila said. “So thanks to that program, they helped me go through that difficult time.”

The Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse began in 1997 as a sexual assault nurse examiner program in the Providence emergency department. Since 2006, the program has been housed in Dawson Place Child Advocacy Center in downtown Everett.

The intervention center conducts medical exams, collects evidence, and advocates for adults and children affected by sexual or physical violence. Staff provide emotional support and emergency financial assistance while also connecting patients with community resources and domestic violence services. All of the services are provided at no cost to the client.

“There’s a lot of things that our advocacy program can do, along with our forensic nursing, to try to make sure that they have all the services they need as they travel through this process toward trying to regain their power,” said Gretchen Clark Bower, director of the Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse.

With Providence Swedish facing a number of financial pressures, the intervention center is currently relying on philanthropy to stay afloat, said Kristy Carrington, CEO of Providence Swedish North Puget Sound.

“We’ve committed to making sure that we can continue to provide this service and also prioritize philanthropy dollars to be able to sustain this service,” she said. “But as we look beyond 2026, it’s going to become more and more challenging.”

The Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse served about 1,200 people last year, about half of them children, said Sherry Allen, manager of the center. A wide variety of people use the center’s services, Clark Bower said.

“Nobody’s immune to this,” Clark Bower said. “We all know somebody who’s been in a relationship that became violent, or maybe they experienced physical or sexual abuse or were assaulted. It crosses all socioeconomic divides, race, religion — everything.”

The team — made up of forensic nurses, advocates, nurse practitioners, therapists and social workers — also conducts emergency room visits and provides services to Providence Swedish locations in Everett, Arlington, Mill Creek and Edmonds.

The Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse is the only forensic nursing program in a five-county radius, Clark Bower said. In addition to Snohomish County, the center sees patients from Skagit, Whatcom, Island and San Juan counties. Not having a center to provide these services in the area would be “catastrophic,” Clark Bower said.

“We’re providing the only forensic nursing and the only advocacy for these clients in all of Snohomish County and surrounding counties,” she said. “It’d be devastating. We really function as the community safety net.”

The center operates within Dawson Place, which also houses the Department of Children, Youth and Families; Compass Health Child Advocacy Program; the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigation Unit; and the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Special Assault Unit. Although the programs are separate, clients will sometimes use multiple programs throughout their journeys.

In the hallway of Providence’s wing of Dawson Place hangs a board staff members use to keep track of how many people are using their services. From January to October, the intervention center received more than 500 calls to their 24-hour hotline. They saw more than 600 patients in emergency rooms throughout the county.

Avila said her Providence advocate helped her and her daughter throughout the year-long court process, both with things like paperwork and emotional support.

“I’m really grateful to everybody,” she said. “Thanks to them, I am better. I still have memories, but I’m much better — much, much better.”

The center also provides support groups and therapy for survivors, which Avila said helped her process her experience.

“It helped me to see other women like me share and give testimony about their lives,” Avila said.

The intervention has a special waiting room and exam room for children, painted with colorful murals with the goal of making children feel safe and comfortable.

In the center’s children exam room, hundreds of sticky hand toys hang from the ceiling. Each child gets a sticky hand after they’re done with their exam.

“I come into this room and it always gets me,” Clark Bower said. “Every single one of these sticky hands and feet is a child that they brought here because someone has taken away their power and has harmed them.”

The center has seen demand grow over time, Clark Bower said, because more people are willing to speak up about their experiences with sexual assault and domestic violence.

“I do feel like especially our younger survivors are learning to have a voice that for years has been kind of pushed aside and something that is taboo to talk about,” she said.

Demand has also increased as Snohomish County’s population has increased, Clark Bower said.

Providence has attributed its financial struggles to a national labor shortage, increases in medical supply and pharmaceutical costs, delayed and decreased insurance reimbursements, and the future impact of the spending bill Congress passed earlier this year.

“It will really be a substantive impact to our hospital in Everett,” Carrington said. “So it really causes programs that operate at a loss to become more vulnerable to be able to sustain.”

On Nov. 21, Providence issued a layoff notice to 57 Washington employees, including 15 in Everett and Monroe. In June, Providence Everett announced plans to lay off more than 100 certified nursing assistants as part of a nationwide restructuring. On Nov. 18, The Seattle Times reported that Providence Swedish plans to eliminate nearly 300 positions in the Seattle area.

Providence Intervention Center for Assault and Abuse is partially funded through state and federal grants, Allen said, and the center has lost some grants amid nationwide uncertainty over federal funds.

The intervention center will be the focus of Providence General Foundation’s annual Festival of Trees fundraiser Dec. 5. More information about the fundraiser can be found at the foundation’s website: foundation.providence.org/wa/everett/events/festival-of-trees.

The Providence General Foundation is also accepting donations at give.providence.org/everett.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.