A history of Providence Everett Medical Center.
1856: Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart and four other Sisters of Providence arrived by steamer on the banks of the Columbia River at Fort Vancouver, Wash., establishing the order’s presence in the Pacific Northwest. The Sisters’ mission: to care for the orphans, elderly, sick and poor.
1903: Bishop Edward O’Dea of Nisqually, on behalf of the people of Everett, made a second request of the Sisters of Providence to open a hospital in the city. The first plea had been denied due to a scarcity of sisters. This time, the town received word that a hospital would be opened.
1904: The sisters purchased the Monte Cristo Hotel and converted it to Providence Hospital, which opened on March 1, 1905. However, the Sisters’ purchase of the Monte Cristo was a temporary measure. It could not adequately house the number of patients needing care.
1923: Excavation began for a new, $300,000, 126-bed hospital on the current site of its Pacific Campus. Once the new hospital opened in 1924, the Monte Cristo was demolished.
Early 1960s: Fund-raising began for a $14.5 million, four-phase program to rebuild the existing hospital. The first new wing was completed in 1965; another wing opened in 1968. The 13-year project concluded in March 1974, when the front portion of the hospital was finished.
1994: Providence Hospital merges with General Hospital Medical Center, its former longtime competitor. Run by a community board, General opened its doors in 1924. At the time the hospitals merged, the two emergency rooms were treating 75,000 patients a year. By 2004, this would rise to 95,275.
2002: The $56 million Pavilion for Women and Children on Pacific Avenue opened, providing neo-natal intensive care for premature babies, baby delivery services, a pediatric specialty outpatient clinic operated by Children’s Hospital &Regional Medical Center and a diagnostic breast center.
2004: Providence Everett Medical Center announces plans for a $400 million expansion to be carried out over the next 15 to 20 years. It would pay for a new cancer center, parking garage, more hospital beds and expanded emergency room. Part of the expansion would involve demolishing or moving 21 homes the hospital now owns and rents in the historic Donavon district, which must be reviewed by Everett’s planning and historic commissions, and ultimately the City Council.
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