Growing access to care

On Jan. 17, 2023, MultiCare welcomed nearly 3,000 new employees into the organization as Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, numerous Yakima clinics and other health services became part of the MultiCare family.

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital — now MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital — has a rich legacy of innovation and commitment to community health spanning more than 70 years.

MultiCare came to the Yakima region to build upon this legacy, in part by restoring and expanding access to care, bolstering clinical teams and fostering a thriving workplace culture.

Throughout 2023, Yakima facilities achieved a number of milestones in service of these goals, including:

• Growing primary care access by 12.4 percent

• Increasing access to colonoscopy services

• Increasing staffed inpatient beds from 100 to 158

• Completing an affiliation with Orthopedics Northwest, PLLC — Yakima’s only  orthopedics practice 

• Relaunching palliative care services in the inpatient setting

• Recruiting 600 new staff members — including 100 registered nurses and 18 physicians and advanced practice providers (physician assistants and advanced registered nurse practitioners)

• Graduating 43 nursing assistants from a Yakima Memorial training program

Growing and maintaining access to care also requires investment in facility improvements. In 2023, MultiCare updated internet connections for all Yakima region clinics, increasing speed and reliability, and overhauled the phone system for the region — replacing 2,000 phones and consolidating four different phone systems into one.

While infrastructure upgrades are critical to sustaining a robust network of care, we can’t truly meet the needs of the community by working in isolation. MultiCare forged new partnerships by launching the Community Partnership Fund in the Yakima region. The fund awarded $100,000 to 12 local nonprofits leading the way in improving access to care, building health equity and supporting behavioral health needs.

“When I first heard MultiCare was coming to Yakima, I was filled with hope for a brighter future,” says Kimberly Bersing, RN, chief nurse executive at Yakima Memorial. “I feel confident that we’re going to be stronger together than we have been apart.”