EvergreenHealth, Valley General Hospital finalize alliance agreement

Published 10:38 am Wednesday, November 26, 2014

EvergreenHealth and Valley General Hospital announced Nov. 19 that their respective Boards of Commissioners have voted to approve the third and final phase of an alliance agreement in which Valley General Hospital in Monroe will become part of the Kirkland-based health care system and managed by EvergreenHealth, which has urgent and primary care centers in Redmond.

As part of the agreement, Valley General Hospital will change its name to EvergreenHealth Monroe effective March 1, 2015.

Valley General’s Board of Commissioners ratified the agreement on Nov. 13 by a unanimous vote.

EvergreenHealth and Valley General entered into an affiliation agreement in late 2012 in which EvergreenHealth committed to working more closely with Valley General, locating additional physicians in Monroe and sharing some core services.

This latest agreement results in Valley General being fully integrated with EvergreenHealth, including changing its name to EvergreenHealth Monroe.

“We are pleased to have this agreement in place, giving us the opportunity to further improve the breadth and quality of the services we can provide our growing population in east Snohomish County,” said Eric Jensen, CEO of Valley General. “Since our initial agreement in 2012, we’ve made great strides in stabilizing our operations, financial performance and delivering on the promise we made to our community when they enthusiastically approved a small levy increase to help maintain access to 24/7 emergency and trauma care and inpatient services.”

Valley General was recently recognized by the Washington State Hospital Association with an Achieving Best Care award for its efforts to decrease patient harm through its participation in the Partnership for Patients initiative, a nationwide collaborative effort to reduce the number of hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and readmissions by 20 percent by the end of 2014.

EvergreenHealth Monroe will be governed by a newly formed, integrated board structure for the 72-bed Monroe-based hospital while being part of the EvergreenHealth system.

Under the agreement, the two hospitals will create an Alliance Governance Board (AGB), consisting of two Board members from EvergreenHealth, two Commissioners from Snohomish County Public Hospital District #1 (SCPHD #1), and the CEO of EvergreenHealth. The AGB will govern Valley General Hospital’s operations, while the SCPHD #1 Board will retain specific powers and responsibility for the public hospital district’s health needs.

“I am proud of our organization’s willingness to step up and help create this alliance, which will go a long way in serving those who rely on Valley General Hospital,” said Al DeYoung, chair of EvergreenHealth’s Board of Commissioners.

The financial position of Valley General has improved greatly since the affiliation formed in 2012.

The 2015 budget projects a positive net operating income of $1 million, thanks in part to improved management and added tax support approved in 2012.

“I am excited about the potential this affiliation offers, not only to make our hospital and our district stronger, but to provide enhanced medical services in areas that have been underserved in our district,” said Tony Balk, chair of Valley General Board of Commissioners.

In the two years since the affiliation was created, EvergreenHealth has added new primary care, prenatal obstetrics, orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation care to the Monroe community. In the late first quarter of 2015 a new 34-bed psychiatric hospital, operated by Fairfax Behavior Health, will open at Valley General Hospital in space previously occupied by Valley’s psych unit, which closed three years ago due to financial considerations.

“I have been practicing in Monroe since 2007 and I’ve watched this community and its needs evolve,” said Jonathan Borjeson, DO, board-certified general surgeon and president of the medical staff of Valley General. “This agreement means that residents of our growing community will have access to the highest quality care at the best value. It’s rewarding to be part of that growth and continue to provide quality care in a community hospital setting.”

EvergreenHealth is the ninth largest hospital in the Puget Sound region, according to Puget Sound Business Journal, and has been named among the top 5 percent of hospitals in the nation by Healthgrades.

Last spring, U.S. News and World Report named EvergreenHealth the top non-academic medical center in the Puget Sound region.