EvergreenHealth
MONROE — This spring, a new medical service has bloomed in Monroe: EvergreenHealth Urgent Care, located across the parking lot from the hospital, on the second floor of the beige and brick EvergreenHealth Pavilion at 14841 179th Ave. SE.
“The people of Monroe will support high quality health care that is close to home,” said Dr. Jeff Tomlin, the CEO of EvergreenHealth, at a small gathering outside the pavilion on April 1. “(This) is part of a bigger vision we’ve been working on for some time.”
The urgent care center began taking patients Monday, April 4. Its hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Walk-ins are welcome, although online check-in at evergreenhealth.com is advised to learn wait times, said Holly Nelson, director of EvergreenHealth urgent care services.
If patients suspect they are having a stroke or cardiac event — or are severely injured — they should go directly to the hospital’s emergency room, said Dr. Kevin Hanson, executive director of emergency services and urgent care services.
“(We) try to get the right patient to the right level of care at the right time,” he said. The urgent care center will be “perfect” for people who have a sore throat, sprain, less severe symptoms, or can’t get in to see their own physician, he said.
Hanson estimates EvergreenHealth Urgent Care will see 20 to 30 patients per day initially, but expects that number will increase.
The center has five exam rooms and a room for rapid Covid-19 testing, plus staff rooms. Patients check in at one of two front desk stations before they are seen by a medical assistant and the health care provider.
“This is a huge need we’re filling in this community,” said Megan Wirsching, chief nursing officer for EvergreenHealth Monroe. “We even had some patients trying to check in today (April 1),” three days before the unit opened, she chuckled.
EvergreenHealth offers a “nurse navigator line” for people who are unsure whether they should go to urgent care, the emergency room, or neither. Patients may call one of two numbers for advice: 425-899-3000 or 360-794-1111. The latter is the line for patients who live in Monroe.
The center accepts most major private medical insurance plans, as well as public Medicaid plans (such as state Apple Health), Tricare and Medicare. A full list of accepted plans is at www.evergreenhealth.com/insurance-specialists
EvergreenHealth’s Monroe urgent care center adds to a growing group of EvergreenHealth urgent care centers such as in Woodinville, Kirkland, Redmond and Mill Creek, and a virtual option on the EvergreenHealth website under “telehealth.” In October, the centers will switch to an electronic medical system called “EPIC,” enabling them to share patient information with one another and with other health care facilities in the system.
Providence opened an urgent care center in Monroe a few years ago at 19200 N. Kelsey St.
EvergreenHealth Urgent Care gives one more option for Sky Valley residents to consider.
“If you don’t know (where to go), urgent care is a great place to start,” said Kayse Dahl, spokeswoman for EvergreenHealth.
